S. Korea unveils football roster for friendlies vs. Uruguay, Panama
National football team coach Paulo Bento speaks during a news conference at the Korea Football Association building, Monday, where he unveiled the 25-member roster for friendly matches against Uruguay and Panama on Oct. 12 and Oct. 16, respectively. Yonhap
South Korea on Monday unveiled a 25-man roster for upcoming friendly football matches at home that included Stade de Reims striker Suk Hyun-jun.
South Korea, ranked 55th in the latest FIFA rankings, will host No. 5 Uruguay in Seoul on Oct. 12 and will take on 70th-ranked Panama in Cheonan, South Chungcheong Province, four days later.
South Korea head coach Paulo Bento made five changes from his roster for the team's September friendlies. South Korea beat Costa Rica 2-0 and had a 0-0 draw with Chile last month.
Among the five newcomers are Suk, who will return to the national team for the first time in two years. The 27-year-old, who has four goals in 11 caps, will try to fill the void left by FC Augsburg forward Ji Dong-won, who injured his knee during his goal celebration in a German Bundesliga match last month.
FC Augsburg midfielder Koo Ja-cheol and Ulsan Hyundai defender Park Joo-ho will also make their national team comeback after missing the September friendlies.
Gyeongnam FC defender Park Ji-soo and Pohang Steelers midfielder Lee Jin-hyun earned their first senior national team call-ups.
Jo Hyeon-woo, who was South Korea's starting goalkeeper at the 2018 FIFA World Cup, will also play for the first time under Bento. He was dropped from the roster for September friendly matches due to a knee injury.
With new faces, Bento's squad featured South Korea's experienced stars like Son Heung-min and Ki Sung-yueng. Lee Jae-sung of Holstein Kiel and Hwang Hee-chan of Hamburger SV also made the roster.
However, South Korean prospects in Europe, such as Lee Kang-in, Jeong Woo-yeong and Paik Seung-ho, failed to earn selection. Jeong is with Bayern Munich's youth team, while Lee and Paik play for B teams of Spanish clubs Valencia and Girona, respectively.
The Korea Football Association (KFA) said Bento's side will start training at the National Football Center (NFC) in Paju, Gyeonggi Province, starting next Monday.(Yonhap)