Hong Myung-bo-ho has a lot of worries about 'Fullback', and Seol Young-woo is at the center of it
Hong Myung-bo-ho has a lot of worries about 'Fullback', and Seol Young-woo is at the center of it
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Since taking office in July last year, Hong Myung-bo, the coach of the Korean men's national soccer team, has taken the helm in earnest from the third Asian qualifying round for the 2026 FIFA World Cup in North Korea, China and the U.S., which began in September. The positions Hong agonized the most from the starting line were the central midfielder and the sideline defender (fullback).
"The positions that I agonized the most were the midfielder and the left and right fullbacks," Hong said when announcing the "September A-match call-up list" for the first time on Aug. 26 last year. "I agonized until the last minute. I thought we should select the right players against Palestine and Oman (who will meet in the first and second rounds of the third qualifying round for the North-China World Cup). I agonized over which players are needed when making aggressive plays while driving away opponents. For example, it's like thinking about whether it would be Seol or Lee Myung-jae in a fullback position. "Midfielder tactically needed multiple abilities when playing 4-3-3. As for the holding midfielder, there were Park Yong-woo and Jung Woo-young, and I agonized over who would play among the other players, but I chose these two."
Has coach Hong found a solution at this point in time when he spent seven months since taking office while playing the first to sixth rounds of the third round of the World Cup qualifiers between North Korea and the U.S..
The answer can be found when Hong announced the "March A Match Calling List" of 28 players on the 10th ahead of the 7th and 8th rounds of the third qualifying round for the North-China World Cup against Oman and Jordan. In conclusion, it is still unresolved. In particular, he is agonizing over it in the "fullback" position.
He stressed the difficulty of selecting full-back players. "All of the full-back players who played in A-matches in September and November last year were missing. Cho Hyun-taek (Kim Cheon Sang-mu) is the first player to recruit players, and although he lacked a lot when he was in Ulsan, he has improved a lot recently. Lee Tae-seok (Pohang Steelers) is currently displaying the best performance in Pohang. Hwang Jae-won (Daegu FC) was selected considering that Seol Young-woo (Trvena Zvezda) has a yellow card. Aggressively, he was evaluated as the best right now."
There was no mention of the central midfielder. In the meantime, defensive midfielder Park Yong-woo (32) has become the main player in Team Hong Myung-bo. Hwang In-beom (29) of Feyenoord puts more weight on offense than on defense. Baek Seung-ho (28) of Birmingham City is also supporting him with stable performance. He started as the central midfielder in the home game of the 2024-2025 English League 1 (tertiary) against Stevernage on Wednesday ahead of joining the national team, and played without replacement, exploding his first goal of the season in the second minute of the second half when he led 1-0, leading the team to a 2-1 victory. The roster is newly joined by Won Doo-jae (28) of the Korpacan Club, who has been away from the national team since playing in seven A matches through 2023.
His concerns over his position seem to have narrowed down to "fullback." While Park Yong-woo may not be a clear solution in the midst of worries over central midfielders, especially holding midfielders, fullback remains unstable. It is the place that brought the biggest change again this time.
As head coach Hong said directly, fullbacks who have played for Hong Myung-bo have repeatedly been replaced with new faces as they come and go. Cho Hyun-taek (24), who participated in the 2024 Asian Football Confederation (AFC) Under-23 Asian Cup held in Qatar in April last year, was selected for the first time as an adult national team. It is also notable that Park Seung-wook (28, Kim Chun), who played in the second consecutive round of the second round of the World Cup qualifying round against China and Singapore in June last year, joined the national team for the first time in nine months and boarded the Hong Myung-bo.
Since its new launch in September last year, Hong Myung-bo has been called up three times and played six games in the third round of the World Cup between North Korea and China, and is set to convene for the fourth time on the 17th. 메이저놀이터
Let's look at the fullback resources listed on the Hong Myung-bo team by A match period.
Seol Young-woo (27), Lee Myung-jae (32, Ulsan HD, then Birmingham City), Choi Woo-jin (21, then Incheon United, now Jeonbuk Hyundai), Hwang Mun-ki (29, Gangwon FC), and Hwang Jae-won (23) were selected for the first time in September last year. Choi Woo-jin and Hwang Mun-ki were selected for the first time in the national adult team. In October last year, Park Min-gyu (30, Consadole Sapporo) was selected for the first time by Seol Young-woo, Lee Myung-jae, and Hwang Mun-ki. Choi Woo-jin and Hwang Jae-won were excluded.