JIM BULLEY
Tottenham Hotspur’s newest Korean signee Yang Min-hyuk, 18, received his first national team call up on Monday.
Yang, who is still playing for Gangwon FC and will join Spurs at the end of the K League season, joins regular picks like Son Heung-min, who retains the captain's armband, Kim Min-jae, Hwang Hee-chan and Lee Kang-in and a host of new or rarely seen phases including Swansea City’s Eom Ji-sung on Hong Myung-bo’s first roster since returning as Korea manager over the summer.
Korea will host Palestine at Seoul World Cup Stadium on Sept. 5 and then play Oman at Sultan Qaboos Sports Complex in Muscat on Sept. 10 in opening Group B games of the third round of Asian qualifiers for the 2026 FIFA World Cup.
Yang, who has eight goals and five assists in the K League 1 despite only technically turning pro midway through the season, is one of four new additions to the squad. The other three are all in defense: Lee Han-beom of FC Midtjylland, Choi Woo-jin of Incheon United and Hwang Moon-gi of Gangwon FC.
Alongside the new faces, goalkeeper Kim Joon-hong of Jeonbuk Hyundai and forward Oh Se-hun of Japanese club Machida Zelvia are both still looking for their first cap.
In goal, Hong called up Ulsan HD’s Jo Hyeon-woo a regular pick and the most recent Korean No. 1 in the absence of Kim Seung-gyu, who has only played one league game since returning from a long absence after a January ACL tear. Shonan Bellmare’s Song Bum-keun takes the final goalkeeper spot.
Veterans Kim Min-jae of Bayern Munich and Kim Young-gwon of Ulsan are joined in defense by UAE-based pair Kwon Kyung-won of Khor Fakkan and Jung Seung-hyun of Al Wasl, Seol Young-woo of Red Star Belgrade, Lee Myung-jae of Ulsan, Kim Moon-hwan of Daejeon Hana Citizen and the new call-ups.
Captain Son Heung-min of Spurs leads the midfield with Hwang Hee-chan of Wolverhampton Wanderers, Lee Jae-sung of Mainz 05, Lee Kang-in of Paris Saint-Germain and Jung Woo-young of Ulsan. Park Yong-woo of Al Ain and Lee Dong-gyeong of Gimcheon Sangmu complete the more experienced lineup, with Eom of Swansea and Jeong Ho-yeon of Gwangju each looking for a second cap.
Joo Min-kyu of Ulsan takes the sole remaining forward spot alongside Oh Se-hun. Joo is also relatively untested on the senior international stage, with just four caps and a goal to his name. Cho Gue-sung of Midtjylland is out with an injury.
Hong, who previously managed Korea from 2013 to 2014, was appointed as manager of the Korean national team on July 7, five months after Jurgen Klinsmann was shown the door.
The appointment was controversial, with the KFA accused of circumventing the official appointment process and undermining the K League by poaching a club manager.
Hong was in the middle of a season as Ulsan manager when he was appointed to the Korea job. He had led them to the past two K League titles.
BY JIM BULLEY [jim.bulley@joongang.co.kr]