As Joo Min-kyu (34) of the Ulsan HD has been holding out at the forefront of the team, he has also maximized the competence of second-line strikers. He has emerged as a new weapon of attack for the Korean national soccer team.
Joo Min-gyu is a striker who represents the K-League. In the 2021 season, he scored 22 goals as a member of Jeju United, and became the top scorer. He also scored 17 goals in the 2022 season and last season. Standing 183 centimeters tall, Joo may not be tall but excels in decision-making as a forward striker. As a midfielder, he has good foot skills and is good at playing matches.
However, he had no relationship with the national team. His former foreign coach constantly turned a blind eye to him. Then, when Daejeon Hana Citizens coach Hwang Seon-hong took the helm of the A-team in March, he put on the national flag for the first time in his career. He was also invited by interim coach Kim Do-hoon during an A-match in June. He has become the oldest member of the national team (33 years and 333 days old), made his debut in an A-match (33 years and 343 days old), and ranked eighth in an A-match score (34 years and 54 days old).
In particular, Joo Min-kyu scored three assists in the away match against Singapore in Game 5 of Group C of the second Asian qualifying round for the 2026 North and Central America World Cup. The pass to the space while turning his back on the opponent’s defense at the front line was excellent. As a result, Son Heung-min (Tottenham) and Lee Kang-in (Paris Saint-Germain) scored multiple goals at the same time, and Hwang Hee-chan (Wolverhampton) also scored.
The same applies to the sixth home game against China that took place at the Seoul World Cup Stadium on Sunday. Joo Min-gyu replaced Lee Jae-seong (Mainz) in the 15th minute of the second half. As soon as he was deployed, he contributed to the goal scored by Lee Kang-in, who became the winning goal. Son Heung-min from the left side kicked a cross after the breakthrough. Joo Min-gyu jumped in and drew attention from the Chinese defense. The ball flowed backward, and Lee Kang-in, who ran fast, shook the net with his left foot.
Currently, the national team is a second term team that is saturated. Captain Son Heung-min, Lee Kang-in, Hwang Hee-chan and Lee Jae-sung, as well as Bae Joon-ho (Stock City) and Um Won-sang (Ulsan HD) are competitive second-term players. 안전놀이터
However, after Hwang Ui-jo (Nottingham Forest) was absent, he failed to keep the ball at the front line, and tended to rely on second-line resource individual play. With the emergence of Joo Min-gyu, their strengths are gradually being displayed. Compared to his competitors overseas such as Cho Kyu-sung (Mitt Willan), Oh Hyun-kyu (Celtic), and Oh Se-hoon (Machida Zelvia), he showed competitive edge not falling behind at all.
“As many good players (in the national team), I was confident that if I do better, I will score a lot of goals,” Joo said. “If I do well in my team, I will be able to come back to the national team. It is not the end, but I will have confidence and score more goals in my team.”