One of the most eye-catching parts of the 2023 AFC (Asian Football Federation) Qatar Asian Cup final entry announced on December 28 is the selection of people born in 2000.
A total of five 2000s students, including Lee Kang-in (Paris Saint-Germain), Kim Ji-soo (Brentford), Oh Hyun-kyu, Yang Hyun-joon (Celtic), and Kim Joo-sung (Seoul), were listed in the 26 entries announced by coach Jürgen Klinsmann, drawing attention.
They will not be strange to participate in next year’s Paris Olympics.
Some were able to join the A national team thanks to the increase in the final entry of the Asian Cup from 23 to 26, but most of them, except for defender Kim Joo-sung, have advanced to the European League at an early age and stand out.
Lee Kang-in, who was born in 2001 and plays for the prestigious Paris Saint-Germain (PSG) in the French league, is the most promising player and ace in Korean soccer.
Lee Kang-in, who left Mallorca, Spain, where he had been until last season and settled in the French league, has scored two goals and two assists this season, building a stable position.
Coach Klinsmann was also satisfied with Lee Kang-in, saying, “A player with too special talents has grown a lot as he moved to PSG.”
Striker Oh Hyun-kyu, who is playing for Celtic in Scotland, was listed as a unique striker resource at the Asian Cup with Cho Kyu-sung (Mit Whelan), a senior member of the national team.
Oh Hyun-kyu, who is the same age as Lee Kang-in, did not make the official entry for the 2022 Qatar World Cup, but was selected as a preliminary member and joined the national team, and shared Korea’s second away round history.
Oh Hyun-kyu, who succeeded in advancing to Europe by moving to Celtic in January this year, gained credibility as he has been consistently selected for the national team since Klinsmann took over.
Midfielder Yang Hyun-joon, who was born in 2002 with Oh Hyun-kyu at Celtic, played for Gangwon FC in the K League 1 and moved to Celtic through the transfer market last summer.
Yang Hyun-joon, who also took the Champions League stage after moving to Celtic, scored one goal and one assist in 16 league games this season.
He was called up to the A-team at the call of Klinsmann during the European away match in September, and in the 39th minute of the second half against Wales, he was put on the ground and made his A-match debut. 헤라카지노
Defender Kim Joo-sung, born in 2000, and defender Kim Ji-soo, born in 2004, are candidates seeking “post Kim Min-jae.”
Left-footed defender Kim Joo-sung has grown further this season by playing as the main central defender of K League 1 Seoul, and Kim Ji-soo played a leading role in Kim Eun-jung’s advance to the semifinals at the 2023 FIFA U-20 World Cup in June.
Kim Ji-soo, who left Seongnam FC in the K-League 2 and joined Brentford in the English Premier League after the World Cup, has yet to make his EPL debut, but he is constantly adapting himself to the European stage as a member of Team B. When Kim and Yang convened with the national team in September, Kim was also summoned by Coach Klinsmann.
“Kim Ji-soo is a player who will play a big role for the Korean soccer team in the future. I called him up for an away match in Europe in September, and even after he was called off, I kept in touch with the team to see how he grew up,” Klinsmann said.