Seoul: Tottenham Hotspur’s Son Heung-min was named in Korea Republic’s AFC Asian Cup Qatar 2023™ squad on Thursday as head coach Jurgen Klinsmann aims to end the country’s 64-year continental title drought.
Wolves forward Hwang Hee-chan, who scored his 10th Premier League goal of the season against Brentford on Wednesday, was also among Klinsmann’s 26-man selection for the tournament, which kicks off on January 12.
Son will captain a squad that includes Bayern Munich defender Kim Min-jae and 22-year-old Paris Saint-Germain attacking midfielder Lee Kang-in.
Korea Republic have not won the AFC Asian Cup since 1960 and Klinsmann has said nothing but the title will be good enough this time around.
Korea Republic have been drawn in Group E and will face Malaysia, Jordan and Bahrain in the first round.
They lost 1-0 to eventual champions Qatar in the quarter-finals of the AFC Asian Cup 2019 in the United Arab Emirates.
Korea Republic squad:
Goalkeepers: Kim Seung-gyu (Al Shabab/KSA), Jo Hyeon-woo (Ulsan), Song Bum-keun (Shonan Bellmare/JPN)
Defenders: Kim Young-gwon (Ulsan), Kim Min-jae (Bayern Munich/GER), Jung Seung-hyun (Ulsan), Kim Ju-sung (FC Seoul), Kim Ji-soo (Brentford/ENG), Seol Young-woo (Ulsan), Kim Tae-hwan (Ulsan), Lee Ki-je (Suwon), Kim Jin-su (Jeonbuk)
Midfielders: Park Yong-woo (Al Ain/UAE), Hwang In-beom (Red Star Belgrade/SRB), Hong Hyun-seok (Gent/BEL), Lee Soon-min (Gwangju), Lee Jae-sung (Mainz/GER), Lee Kang-in (Paris Saint-Germain/FRA), Son Heung-min (Tottenham/ENG), Jeong Woo-yeong (Stuttgart/GER), Hwang Hee-chan (Wolves/ENG), Moon Seon-min (Jeonbuk), Park Jin-seop (Jeonbuk), Yang Hyun-jun (Celtic/SCO)
Strikers: Cho Gue-sung (Midtjylland/DEN), Oh Hyeon-gyu (Celtic/SCO)
Source: AFP
