written by Jeongho Seo, Football Tribe Korea
South Korea head coach Shin Tae-yong announced their final 23-man roster for the upcoming FIFA World cup.
28 players were called up for preliminary squad; however, Shin’s side lost two players to injuries: Kwon Chang-hoon and Lee Keun-ho. Three additional Taeguk Warriors were withdrawn: Kim Jin-su, Lee Chung-yong, and Kwon Kyong-Won.
Jeonbuk Hyundai Motors’ left back Kim Jin-su was excluded due to his knee injury which he got in March. Kim focused on recovery since then, but was not fit enough to step on the pitch.
Kwon has constantly been called up since Shin Tae-yong became the manager; however, he could not get ahead of his competitors in the same position.
Crystal Palace winger Lee Chung-yong was cut from the squad as well; since Lee was injured in 2011, he has had troubles finding his place. In 2018, he played for 16 minutes in three league games for Crystal Palace. Shin yet included him in the preliminary squad because of his World Cup experiences in 2010 and 2014, but his performance against Honduras was below expectation.
The final roster is as below:
Goalkeepers: Kim Seung-Gyu, Kim Jin-Hyeon, Cho Hyun-Woo
Defenders: Go Yo-Han, Kim Young-Gwon, Kim Min-Woo, Park Joo-Ho, Oh Ban-Suk, Yun Yong-Sun, Jung Seung-Hyun, Jang Hyun-Soo, Lee Yong, Hong Chul
Midfielders: Koo Ja-Cheol, Ki Sung-Yueng, Moon Seon-Min, Lee Seung-Woo, Lee Jae-Sung, Jung Woo-Young, Ju Se-Jong
Forwards: Kim Shin-Wook, Son Heung-Min, Hwang Hee-Chan
