Recently, Korean national teams at each level are rich in talented second-line resources. The same goes for Kim Eun-joong, who is challenging the U20 World Cup in Argentina in 2023.
The 2023 Argentina U20 World Cup kicks off on the 21st (Korean time). Last year’s runner-up, Korea, was placed in Group F. Starting with France on the 23rd, they will face Honduras on the 26th and Gambia on the 29th. The Korean U20 national team, led by coach Kim Eun-joong, is preparing for the tournament in Argentina after conducting the final field training in Sao Paulo, Brazil.
The competitiveness of players who can be placed in the second line, from attacking midfielders to side strikers, is considered the greatest strength of the national team. At the forefront, 2023 Asian Football Confederation (AFC) U20 Asian Cup Korea’s top scorer, Sung Jin-young, could not join due to injury, and in the 3rd line, a professional defensive midfielder was lacking, but in the 2nd line, Bayern Munich midfielder Lee Hyun-joo failed to participate in the tournament due to injury. However, both qualitatively and quantitatively
Kang Seong-jin, Bae Jun-ho, Kim Yong-hak, and Kang Sang-yoon were chosen by coach Kim one after another following the U20 Asian Cup. The four players showed off their skills at the Asian Cup. Bae Jun-ho and Kim Yong-hak showed moves to release the attack through passing and dribbling, going back and forth from the center and the side, and scored goals. Kang Seong-jin also showed that there was a room with a great solo play. Kang Sang-yoon contributed to the team by going back and forth between the 2nd and 3rd lines. Here, winger Lee Seung-jun, who will expand the options, and European player Lee Ji-han (Freiburg, Germany) have newly joined.
Most of the K-League players, who are expected by each K-League club, also have professional experience. Daejeon Hana Citizen’s promising star, Bae Jun-ho, played 8 K-League 2 games and 2 promotion playoff games last year. Even this season, when he was frequently selected for the U20 national team, he played in 7 K-League 1 matches. Kang Sang-yoon has played 16 matches since last year at Jeonbuk Hyundai, which has the best team in the K-League 1.
Kang Seong-jin has overwhelming professional experience at the U20 national team level. He made his professional debut at the age of 18 in 2021 as FC Seoul’s first semi-professional contract player, and in 2022 he played in a whopping 34 league matches. Even though his 20-year-old season has not passed halfway, the K-League 1 career record is already 50 games, 2 goals and 6 assists. Last year, Paulo Bento, former coach of the Korean men’s soccer team, called him and made his A-team debut and scored his A-match debut goal.메이저놀이터
In order to make good use of good players, it is important to manage the final condition and the combination. The U20 national team had concerns about the composition of the second line even during the last Asian Cup. If you find the best strategy to bring out the players’ skills to the maximum, competitiveness in the second line can be the best weapon of the national team this time.