Yeom to join Korea's World Cup team

By Nam Hyun-woo

The K-League's leading attacker, Yeom Ki-hun of the Suwon Samsung Bluewings, earned his first assignment under national football team coach Uli Stielike, as the coach announced Monday the 23-man roster for two games this month.

Korea will face the UAE in a friendly match in Kuala Lumpur, Malaysia, on June 11 and will take on Myanmar in Bangkok, Thailand, five days later in the second round of the Asian qualifiers for the 2018 Russia World Cup.

Unlike previous squads, Stielike unveiled a blend that includes 11 K-League players for the trip ― a decision that was made due to the absence of some of his players based in overseas leagues.

“It's not a good situation, but I'm not looking for excuses,” Stielike said during a news conference at the Korea Football Association headquarters in central Seoul.

Swansea City's Ki Sung-yueng recently underwent knee surgery. Mainz 05's Park Joo-ho and Koo Ja-cheol, FC Augsburg's Ji Dong-won and Wigan's Kim Bo-kyung will be off the pitch as they will be conscripted for four weeks for basic military training during their Korean trip. Yun Suk-young and four other players will also miss the two games due to injuries.

Stielike's wing option, Han Kyo-won of the Jeonbuk Hyundai Motors, was excluded from the squad after on-pitch violence, while FC Seoul right back Cha Du-ri retired from the national team.

With a limited selection, the coach turned his eyes to the K-League, but did not call up familiar faces such as Lee Dong-gook of Jeonbuk or Park Chu-young of Seoul. Instead, he chose Yeom, Jeju United attacking midfielder Kang Soo-il, Jeonbuk midfielder Choi Bo-kyung and Seongnam FC defender Lim Chai-min.

With Stielike's choice, Yeom will represent Korea for the first time since he appeared in a friendly against Mexico on Jan. 29 of last year. After a slow season last year, Yeom, 32, is winding back the clock this season, leading the K-League Classic's assists table with six assists in 11 appearances. He also scored six goals, just behind the league's leading scorer Edu of Jeonbuk, who has netted seven.

“There is a question how the 32-year-old will contribute to the national team's World Cup campaign after qualification,” Stielike said. “However, it would be nonsense to ignore a Korean K-League player who scores and assists the most. Also I believe a player showing good performance should be compensated properly. Thus, today's pick also means compensation to Yeom for his performances so far.”

Yeom suffered an injury during an Asian Champions League round of 16 game and missed a league game on Sunday. Stielike said his staffers checked that Yeom is in fit form to play a June 3 game and join the national team without any problem.

After announcing the roster, Stielike added that he wanted people not to stigmatize Han Kyo-won for his misbehavior.

“As you can see, I did not call up Kyo-won. Even though it (Han's violence) did not happen, I would not call him given his performance this season,” Stielike said.

“I spent five weeks in Australia (for the Asian Cup) and I am concerned that he is being stigmatized that he should be banned for life. Of course, his act was intolerable, but I know that he is a well-educated player and received due punishment for his act. Please don't point fingers at him after he returns to the pitch.”

Han was suspended for six games by the K-League. That added to the automatic two-game suspension he received for being sent off after the act means Han will miss a total of eight games.

In the second round qualification for the 2018 World Cup, Korea is in Group G with Myanmar, Laos, Lebanon and Kuwait. The June 16 game's host is Myanmar, but it was forced to hold the game in a neutral venue as it is under FIFA sanctions for crowd-control issues.

The national team will assemble at Paju National Football Center on June 8 and will fly to Malaysia hours later.

National football team roster for June matches

Goalkeepers

Kim Jin-hyun (Cerezo Osaka), Kim Seung-gyu (Ulsan Hyundai), Jung Sung-ryong (Suwon Samsung)

Defenders

Lim Chai-min (Seongnam FC), Kim Chang-soo (Kashiwa Reysol), Hong Jeong-ho (FC Augsburg), Kim Kee-hee (Jeonbuk Hyundai), Kwak Tae-hwi (Al-Hilal FC), Kim Jin-su (TSG Hoffenheim) Jeong Dong-ho (Ulsan Hyundai), Lee Ju-yong (Jeonbuk Hyundai)

Midfielders

Lee Jae-sung (Jeonbuk Hyundai Motors), Lee Chung-yong (Crystal Palace), Jang Hyun-soo (Guangzhou R&F), Son Heung-min (Bayer Leverkusen), Han Kook-young (Qatar SC), Nam Tae-hee (Lekhwiya SC), Jung Woo-young (Vissel Kobe), Choi Bo-kyung (Jeonbuk Hyundai), Yeom Ki-hun (Suwon Samsung), Kang Soo-il (Jeju United)

Forwards

Lee yong-jae (V Varen Nagasaki), Lee Jeong-hyeop (Sangju Sangmu)