Coach Hwang Seon-hong Aims for 10th Consecutive Olympic Finals with U-23 National Football Team

Hwang Seon-hong, coach of the U-23 national football team

Olympic soccer team coach Hwang Seon-hong, competing for the Paris 2024 Olympics, vowed to advance to the finals for the 10th time in a row.

The U-23 national football team, led by coach Hwang Seon-hong, began training mainly with domestic players at Icheon Sports Complex in Gyeonggi-do on the afternoon of the 1st.

The national team includes key foreign players such as Stoke City midfielder Bae Jun-ho from the English Championship (2nd division), Premier League (EPL) Brentford defender Kim Ji-soo, Scottish Celtic striker Yang Hyeon-jun , and the 2nd division Bundesliga from Germany. Dusseldorf midfielder Kim Min-woo.

Minnesota United striker Jeong Sang-bin, who did not play in the recently won West Asian Football Federation (WAFF) U-23 Championship, was also included.

Among the 18 domestic players, Kang Seong-jin, Lee Tae-seok (Seoul), Ahn Jae-jun (Bucheon), Um Ji-seong (Gwangju), and Hwang Jae-won (Daegu) were selected by Coach Hwang.

Although the timing of foreign players joining Hwang Seon-Hong is yet to be decided, 18 of the 23 players from the K-League will meet for the first time at the convocation training held in Icheon from today to the 3rd.

On the first day of training, 17 players focused on recovery, except for midfielder Baek Sang-hoon (Seoul), who stayed in the dorm due to a bad knee.

Coach Hwang Seon-hong, who met with reporters before training, said, “It is difficult to advance to the 10th Olympic Games in a row, but it is something that must be achieved. The determination is amazing . Although it is expected to be a difficult competition, I will work hard with the players to achieve the desired goal.” revealed.

He added, “There is no guarantee that we will progress to the finals. The responsibility is heavy, but we still have to do it. That will motivate the players as well.”

When asked if there were any difficulties in choosing the final roster, he said, “We had a lot of trouble balancing the positions because it was difficult for foreign players to join. However, there are players who play regularly in the K-League, so we intend to get them to fill the void.”

Although the final list has been confirmed, it is still unclear if and when foreign groups will join.

Coach Hwang said, “Foreign players are likely to join after their team’s weekend matches end on the 13th or 14th. There are variables, but we have hope. We are also preparing Plan B.”

As for whether Bae Jun-ho, who returned to his team early before the finals at the Saudi invitational tournament, will join, he said, “It’s difficult to give a definite answer at the moment. But it must be decided as soon as possible possible. We are waiting for an answer from the team.”

After focusing on recovery in Korea, Hwang Seon-hong will leave for Dubai, United Arab Emirates (UAE), field training camp, on the 5th and continue to adapt to the local environment. On the 10th, they will enter Doha, Qatar, the venue of the U-23 Asian Cup, which also serves as the final Asian qualifier for the Paris Olympics.

If you come in the top 3 in the competition, you will receive a direct ticket to Paris, and if you come in 4th place, you will have to compete in the play-offs with the 4th place team of the African regional qualifier to progress to the finals.

Korea, competing for its 10th consecutive Olympic final, will face the United Arab Emirates (16th), China (19th), and Japan (22nd) in Group B.

Coach Hwang said, “We will prepare alongside organizational and practical training starting from field training,” and added, “We are preparing for the first game of the group stage.”

He emphasized, “There is no easy team. It will depend on our preparation. Every player has a strong will to go to the Olympic Games. We intend to work together to do it.”

Coach Hwang, who has been shouting ‘one team, one goal’ since taking office, said, “When Argentina won the World Cup, it wasn’t done with just one player (Lionel) Messi. We couldn’t have done it that without him. the other players,” and he added, “Only when we come together as one can we achieve the goal we want.”

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