HackMDHwang Sun-ho and Bae Jun-ho, who "entered Doha," are also uncertain about joining
Hwang Sun-hong, who is trying to advance to the men's soccer finals at the Olympics for the 10th consecutive time, is focusing on preparing a plan B ahead of the opening of the 2024 Asian Football Confederation AFC Under-23 Asian Cup.
The Korean Olympic team players, led by head coach Hwang Sun-hong, arrived in Doha, Qatar, on the afternoon of the 10th Korean time, undressing and entering the final preparation for the AFC U-23 Asian Cup.
The national team, which left Incheon International Airport on the 5th and has adapted to jet lag and Middle Eastern climate in Dubai, the United Arab Emirates UAE, headed to Doha, Qatar, where the competition will be held, in a closed exhibition match 0-1 loss against Saudi Arabia early on the 10th.
The AFC U-23 Asian Cup 15th-May 3 is a competition that will qualify for men's soccer at this year's Paris Olympics, so you must be in the top three to win a "direct ticket to Paris."
If they finish fourth, they can only go to Paris if they win the continental playoff against Guinea, the fourth-place team in the qualifying round of the African Football Confederation CAF.
Coach Hwang Sun-hong announced the final entry of 23 players for the tournament on the 29th of last month, including overseas players Kim Min-woo Dusseldorf, Yang Hyun-joon Celtic, Jung Sang-bin Minnesota, Kim Ji-soo Brentford, and Bae Joon-ho Stock City.
However, this tournament is not included in the A-match, so overseas players cannot participate without the permission of their teams, but the problem eventually broke out.
Among the five overseas players, Yang Hyun-joon's team, Celtic Scotland, refused to be called out on the 5th due to team circumstances, and on the 8th, even Brentford England, where Kim Ji-soo plays, was notified that he could not be called out.
In order to fill their gaps, Hwang hurriedly called in striker Hong Si-hoo Incheon and defensive resource Kim Dong-jin Pohang.
Still, it is regrettable for manager Hwang that Yang Hyun-joon is playing well with Celtic this season, scoring one goal and three assists in 23 regular league games as a backup offensive resource.
Fortunately, Jung Sang-bin and Kim Min-woo finished joining the national team normally, but there is still a crisis.
It is unclear whether Bae Joon-ho, an important resource for the national team's offense, will join. Stoke City, Bae's team, was completely defeated 0-3 in an away match against Swansea City in the 42nd round of the 2023-2024 English Professional Football Championship on Sunday.
Stoke City 46 points, ranked 19th in the championship, is only three points behind Sheffield Wednesday 43 points, which is in the relegation zone, so it is not easy to give up key midfielder Bae Joon-ho two goals and four assists in 34 games.
If Hwang Sun-hong fails to recruit Yang Hyun-joon, Kim Ji-soo and Bae Joon-ho, he will suffer a huge blow to Plan A, which he envisioned as a "winning scenario." In the end, with major overseas players absent, Hwang should try to win the title with a plan B focused on K-League players.
Despite the difficult situation, Taegeuk Warriors' morale is high. Ahead of its first training session on Wednesday after joining Qatar, Hwang Jae-won, vice-captain of the national team, said through the Korea Football Association, "I feel that I really came to the tournament because so many people welcomed me than I thought," adding, "The first match starts next week, so I'm looking forward to it and I want to play quickly." 토토
