[골닷컴] Reporter Kang Dong-hoon = There was a change in Hwang Seon-hong’s convocation list (23 people). According to the Korea Football Association (KFA) on the 15th, ‘Um Salah’ Eom Won-sang (Ulsan HD) could not be called up due to injury, so ‘Song Star’ Song Min-gyu (Jeonbuk Hyundai) was selected as a replacement.
The Korean national soccer team, led by coach Hwang Seon-hong, will play the 3rd and 4th matches of the 2026 FIFA North and Central America World Cup Asia 2nd qualifying round against Thailand this month (Seoul World Cup Stadium on the 21st and Ratchamankala Stadium on the 26th). Prior to this, they will gather at Goyang Sports Complex on the 18th and begin convocation training.
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Previously, Director Hwang announced the convocation list on the 11th. Starting with captain Son Heung-min (Tottenham Hotspur), players who have consistently played key roles were selected, including Kim Min-jae (Bayern Munich), Kim Young-kwon (Ulsan), and Hwang In-beom (Crvena Zvezda). Lee Kang-in (Paris Saint-Germain), who was of greatest interest, was also called.
Coach Hwang, who has been constantly visiting K-League sites to identify players, has also selected players who are active in the K-League. A representative example is Joo Min-gyu (Ulsan), who had a great performance as a leading striker in the K-League, including being the top scorer twice (2021, 2023), but had no connection with the Taegeuk mark.
Coach Hwang also selected Kwon Kyung-won (Suwon FC), Lee Myung-jae (Ulsan), Lee Chang-geun (Daejeon Hana Citizen), and Jeong Ho-yeon (Gwangju FC). In addition, Eom Won-sang, who won a gold medal together at the 2022 Hangzhou Asian Games, was also selected. Eom Won-sang received great trust from Director Hwang at the time and performed very well.
However, among them, Eom Won-sang was excluded as he could not be called up due to injury, and Song Min-gyu was selected as a replacement. Eom Won-sang, who returned to the national soccer team after being called by Coach Hwang for the first time in about 1 year and 4 months since November 2022, swallowed his regret.
It has been one year since March of last year that Song Min-gyu was named to the national soccer team. His last A-match appearance was against Iceland in November 2022. Song Min-gyu is performing well in the early part of the season. He has one goal and one assist in four games across all competitions, including the K-League and the Asian Football Confederation (AFC) Champions League (ACL).
◆ Korea National Football Team March A-match call-up list (total of 23 players)
▲ Goalkeeper (GK) = Jo Hyeon-woo (Ulsan HD), Song Bum-geun (Shonan Bellmare), Lee Chang-geun (Daejeon Hana Citizen)
▲ Defender (DF) = Kim Min-jae (Bayern Munich), Kim Young-kwon, Lee Myung-jae, Seol Young-woo (Ulsan HD), Kwon Gyeong-won (Suwon FC), Jo Yu-min (Sharjah), Kim Jin-su (Jeonbuk Hyundai), Kim Mun-hwan (Al-Duhail)
▲ Midfielder (MF) = Baek Seung-ho (Birmingham City), Park Jin-seop, Song Min-gyu (Jeonbuk Hyundai), Hwang In-beom (Crvena Zvezda), Hong Hyun-seok (Gent), Lee Jae-seong (Mainz), Lee Kang-in (Paris Saint-Germain), Jung Woo-young (Stuttgart) ), Son Heung-min (Tottenham Hotspur), Jeong Ho-yeon (Gwangju FC)
▲ Striker (FW) = Cho Gyu-seong (Midtjylland), Joo Min-gyu (Ulsan HD)
