Written by Youngsub Lee
Football Tribe Korea
The Korean national football team head coach, Paulo Bento has summoned his 23-strong squad for the upcoming 2019 East Asian Football Federation (EAFF) E-1 Football Championship finals. Players plying their trade in the Middle East and Europe were exempted.
The eighth edition of the EAFF E-1 Championship will see China, Japan, Hong Kong and the Republic of Korea compete in Busan from 10 to 18 December. As the tournament is not organized under FIFA (Fédération Internationale de Football Association), clubs are not obliged to release their players during this period. This has led to several new names on the Portuguese manager’s roster.
Upon the announcement, Bento said: “Although the players in ongoing European and Middle Eastern leagues cannot join us as it is not the official International A match period under FIFA, it would be a great opportunity to test some of the players that I have been observing.
“Since the tournament will be held in Korea, I will do my best to meet up with the football fans’ expectations.”
Jeju United FC midfielder, Yun Il-lok named on the roster for the first time since the 2017 EAFF E-1 Championship. Lee Yeong-jae who has netted eight and assisted six throughout the season was also donned with the Taegeuk Warriors’ (Korean national team’s nickname) jersey for the first time.
The squad will start training in Ulsan from the 5th of next month and move to Busan two days before the first game against Hong Kong.
Korea National Team Squad for 2019 EAFF E-1 Championship
GK : Kim Seung-gyu (Ulsan Hyundai FC), Jo Hyeon-woo (Daegu FC), Gu Sung-Yun (Hokkaido Consadole Sapporo)
DF : Kwon Kyung-won, Kim Jin-su (Jeonbuk Hyundai Motors FC), Park Joo-ho, Kim Tae-hwan (Ulsan Hyundai FC), Kim Young-gwon (Gamba Osaka), Kim Min-jae (Beijing Guoan), Park Ji-soo (Guangzhou Evergrande), Kim Moon-hwan (Busan IPark)
MF : Son Jun-ho, Han Seung-gyu, Moon Seon-min (Jeonbuk Hyundai Motors FC), Kim Bo-kyung, Kim In-sung (Ulsan Hyundai FC), Hwang In-beom (Vancouver Whitecaps FC), Ju Se-jong (FC Seoul), Lee Yeong-jae (Gangwon FC), Yun Il-Lok (Jeju United FC), Na Sang-ho (FC Tokyo)
FW : Lee Jeong-hyeop (Busan IPark), Kim Seung-dae (Jeonbuk Hyundai Motors)