4 World Cup members join men's Asian Games team
Lee Gi-hyuk of Korea, right, dribbles the ball against South Africa during the teams' Group A match of the FIFA World Cup at Estadio Monterrey in Guadalupe, Mexico, June 24. Yonhap
Four players who represented Korea at this year's FIFA World Cup will do the same at the upcoming Asian Games.
The Korea Football Association (KFA) on Thursday unveiled the 23-player squads for the men's and women's national teams set to compete at the Asian Games in Japan this fall.
The men's tournament is an under-23 competition, but teams are each allowed to carry up to three players over the age limit.
Korea head coach Lee Min-sung selected three players from the recent World Cup squad as his overage players — Celtic FC midfielder Yang Hyun-jun (24), Swansea City midfielder Eom Ji-sung (24) and Gangwon FC defender Lee Gi-hyuk (26).
Another member of the World Cup team, Stoke City midfielder Bae Jun-ho, also made the Asian Games squad at 22.
Lee Gi-hyuk started all three group stage matches for Korea. Eom made two appearances as a second-half substitute, and Yang was brought in off the bench once. Bae did not make an appearance while dealing with an ankle injury.
Yang, Eom and Bae are among nine players who play their club football in Europe. The group includes Brentford defender Kim Ji-soo and Tottenham Hotspur midfielder Yang Min-hyeok.
Coach Lee selected 10 players born in 2003. Newcastle United's Park Seung-soo is the youngest player on the team at 19.
The U-23 Korea will try to win their fourth consecutive Asian Games gold medal and their seventh overall.
"Our goal all along has been to win the gold medal. We have had a chance to look at individual players' competitiveness and our team's overall tactical readiness since last year," Lee said in a statement released by the KFA. "Based on that experience, we have developed a clearer sense of where we want to go. And we have put together the most competitive squad possible in this age group. We have players that we believe will give us the best results in the short tournament like this."
As for his overage picks, Lee said: "We considered their fits for our tactics, international experience and game management skills. We also wanted to address some of our weaker positions."
With no age restriction in the women's tournament, head coach Shin Sang-woo put together a mix of veterans and up-and-comers.
Ji So-yun, the country's all-time leader with 175 caps and 75 goals, was called up for her sixth Asian Games at age 35, joined by other national team mainstays in Choe Yu-ri (31), Kim Hye-ri (36) and Jang Selgi (32).
Three overseas-based players were called up, including two Ottawa Rapid FC teammates Choo Hyo-joo and Jung Min-young.
Korea have not won an Asian Games gold in women's football, with three straight bronze medals in 2010, 2014 and 2018 as their best results so far.
Shin said he went with players that he thought were in best form on their respective clubs.
"Although some players based in Europe are missing, we have others who have been improving steadily since the start of this year by playing in some highly intense international matches," Shin said. "So that gives me a lot of confidence. We want more than just our first medal in eight years. Our target is the gold medal, and we will be ready to battle hard every game."
The KFA said both the men's and women's teams will hold training camp in early September. The women's competition starts Sept. 14, and the men's event kicks off the following day.
The draws for both tournaments will take place July 23.