March 14, 2023 10:26
The roster for the Korean national football team's upcoming friendly matches was announced on Monday.
The matches will mark new coach Jürgen Klinsmann's debut at the helm of the team.
Earlier, Klinsmann said he would select the players who represented Korea at the FIFA World Cup in Qatar last year to acknowledge their achievement at the quadrennial event, where Korea advanced to the round of 16.
The roster includes 24 of the 26 players who were selected for the World Cup, including Son Heung-min of Tottenham Hotspur, Kim Min-jae of Società Sportiva Calcio Napoli, Hwang Hee-chan of Wolverhampton Wanderers, Lee Kang-in of RCD Mallorca and Cho Gue-sung of Jeonbuk Hyundai Motors.
Yoon Jong-gyu of Gimcheon Sangmu and Hong Chul of Daegu FC were excluded due to injuries, replaced by Lee Ki-je of Suwon Samsung Bluewings and Oh Hyeon-gyu of Celtic FC.
Lee is one of the best left backs in the K-League, known for his strong foot skills and accurate passing. He led the league in assists last season with 14.
Forward Oh played in the last pre-World Cup friendly against Iceland in November last year and joined the World Cup squad as a replacement player. He moved to Celtic from Suwon Samsung in January and has been faring well, scoring two goals for the Scottish club in nine matches.
Klinsmann will meet the players for the first time at the National Football Center in Paju, Gyeonggi Province on March 20.
Korea will play friendlies against Colombia in Ulsan on March 24 and Uruguay in Seoul on March 28.
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