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| National football team manager Uli Stielike announces the 23-man roster for friendly matches scheduled for later this month at the Korea Football Association headquarters in central Seoul, Tuesday. / Yonhap |
By Nam Hyun-woo
Two Europe-based footballers will return to the national team, as coach Uli Stielike announced Tuesday the 23-man roster for friendly matches scheduled for later this month.
Korea will host Uzbekistan at Daejeon World Cup Stadium on March 27 and New Zealand at Seoul World Cup Stadium four days later.
The German coach called up most of the squad who took part in the Asian Cup earlier this year, in which they advanced to the final for the first time since 1988, in addition to bringing in Augsburg forward Ji Dong-won and Wigan Athletic midfielder Kim Bo-kyung.
"I have never seen Ji and Kim before, but I called them up because of their performances at their clubs," Stielike said, during the roster announcement at the Korea Football Association headquarters in central Seoul.
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| Ji Dong-won, left, Kim Bo-kyung, center, and Lee Jae-sung were named to the national team for upcoming friendly matches. / Yonhap |
"Kim was mostly confined to the bench at Cardiff City, but became a regular after moving to Wigan. Ji also moved to Augsburg and started six out of seven recent games. So I picked them to check out their performances."
After playing the Brazil World Cup, Ji and Kim had not been called up for any international games, but the two recently showed a marked improvement in their displays, with Kim scoring two goals in English Championship games earlier this month.
Compared to the Asian Cup squad, six new players have joined the national team, while Suwon Samsung goalkeeper Jung Sung-ryong, Al Ain midfielder Lee Myung-joo, Sagan Tosu midfielder Kim Min-woo, Qatar SC forward Cho Young-cheol and El Jaish forward Lee Keun-ho were omitted.
"Kim Kee-hee and Yun Suk-young could not join the national team unfortunately because of military drills and injuries, respectively. I also called up Lee Jae-sung and Kim Eun-sun because they were solid in the K-League and also seemed good at Jeju training camp last December," Stielike said of the new faces.
QPR defender Yun missed the Asian Cup because of injury. Jeonbuk Hyundai center back Kim Kee-hee was also omitted from the Asian Cup squad because he had to spend four weeks in the military before the competition. He was exempted from Korea's mandatory military service as a member of under-23 team which clinched bronze at the 2012 London Olympics. Instead of serving a full period of two years, those players were conscripted for four weeks and trained in basic military skills.
For the forward positions, Stielike picked his crown prince Lee Jeong-hyeop along with Ji, but turned his eyes away from Lee Dong-gook, the all-time record goal scorer of the K-League.
"Let me ask you one thing," Stielike said. "How many games has Lee has played this season? The national team is for chosen ones. It shouldn't be considered easy," the coach said.
After suffering an injury in his thigh, Jeonbuk forward Lee made a brief appearance during a game against FC Seoul.
Meanwhile, Stielike included FC Seoul full back Cha Du-ri, who recently called an end to his international career, into the squad to give him one last chance to represent his country in the New Zealand game.
"Cha has played 75 international games and performed with pride as a national team member. So I wanted him to have a last opportunity. Cha will join the team after the Uzbekistan game and will likely start against New Zealand," Stielike said, adding that he will test a number of options to fill Cha's vacancy in the right back position.
A team squad
Goalkeepers
Kim Jin-hyun (Cerezo Osaka), Kim Seung-gyu (Ulsan Hyundai)
Defenders
Jang Hyun-soo (Guangzhou R&F), Kim Chang-soo (Kashiwa Reysol), Kim Young-gwon (Guangzhou Evergrande), Kwak Tae-hwi (Al-Hilal FC), Kim Jin-su (TSG Hoffenheim), Cha Du-ri (FC Seoul), Kim Kee-hee (Jeonbuk Hyundai), Kim Ju-young (Shanghai SIPG), Yun Suk-young (QPR)
Midfielders
Ki Sung-yueng (Swansea City), Koo Ja-cheol, Park Joo-ho (Mainz 05), Son Heung-min (Bayer Leverkusen), Kim Bo-kyung (Wigan Athletic), Han Kook-young (Qatar SC), Nam Tae-hee (Lekhwiya SC), Han Kyo-won, Lee Jae-sung (Jeonbuk Hyundai), Kim Eun-sun (Suwon Samsung)
Forwards
Ji Dong-won (Augsburg), Lee Jeong-hyeop (Sangju Sangmu)
