This is the last game to be played before Hwang Sun-hong is called up. The third round of the K-League deserves attention from national team players.
The third round of the K-League will take place on two days from July 16 to 17. Different teams have different goals, including a team that is trying to overcome losing consecutive games, a team that is aiming for its first win, and a team that dreams of winning three consecutive games, so an exciting third round is expected.
It can be an interesting third round even if you focus your attention on the players, not the team. This is because many K leaguers play their last games on their teams ahead of the national team's call-up.
Lee Chang-geun of Daejeon Hana Citizen and Kwon Kyung-won of Suwon FC will play their league matches on Saturday. Daejeon will meet Gangwon FC in its home opener, and Suwon FC will go away to Daegu FC.
Lee Chang-geun failed to play in the first round due to injury early in the season, but Lee Chang-geun, who started in the match against Jeju United, was called up to the national team for the first time in a long time since the end of 2020. Kwon Kyung-won, who has experience playing in the 2022 Qatar World Cup, also returned to the national team in about a year with strong performances in the first and second rounds in a row.
Attention should be paid to Gwangju FC, Ulsan HD and Jeonbuk Hyundai at the match on Thursday. Gwangju and Ulsan have Jung Ho-yeon (Gwangju), Joo Min-kyu and Lee Myung-jae (Ulsan), who will wear the national flag for the first time in their careers. Attention is focusing on whether the three players, who have shown good performances since the beginning of the season, will get a chance to play in the first team selected.
Seol Young-woo, who has already become a regular member of the national team, is also a member of Ulsan. Jeonbuk will have core fullback Kim Jin-soo, Park Jin-seop, who became famous for "Cinderella" story, and Song Min-gyu, who was selected for Um Won-sang. Since being called up to the national team for the first time late last year, Park has been selected again following the 2023 Qatar Asian Cup.
Coach Hwang Sun-hong, who leads the national team as a temporary coach during this A-match, watched the ACL game between Ulsan and Jeonbuk held after the announcement of the list to observe the players' physical conditions, and whether Hwang will visit the K-League site on the weekend is also interesting.
Although attention is focused on qualifying for the 2026 North-Central America World Cup against Thailand, it should also be remembered that there is a U-23 national team preparing for the mock test in preparation for the U-23 Asian Cup for Road to Paris during the same period.
The U-23 national team will participate in the 2024 West Asian Football Confederation (WAF) U-23 Championship in Saudi Arabia under head coach Myung Jae-yong, with coach Hwang away. Depending on the result of the match against Thailand on the 21st, the team will play the winner or loser of the Saudi Arabia-Jordan match on the 23rd, and will have a final ranking match on the 26th.
Unlike the A-team, the U-23 team is mostly made up of domestic players. Except for Yang Hyun-joon (Celtic), Bae Joon-ho (Stock City), Kim Min-woo (Dusseldorf), and Kim Ji-soo (Brentford), all 19 players are K-League players. Talented players who play as key players in the K-League 1 team as well as famous players in the K-League 2 have been selected.
These players will also have their last league game before departing for Saudi Arabia on June 16 and 17. It is worth paying attention to as many players are playing as key players in their respective teams, from Kim Jung-hoon and Baek Jong-beom, who will compete for the starting goalkeeper for the U-23 national team, to Lee Tae-seok, Jo Wi-je and Hwang Jae-won of the defense, as well as Um Ji-sung, Hong Yun-sang, Kang Sung-jin and Ahn Jae-joon. 토토