(World Cup) Looking to do nation proud, S. Korean players depart for Qatar
SEOUL, Nov. 13 (Yonhap) — South Korean players competing at the upcoming FIFA World Cup will try to make their supporters proud, head coach Paulo Bento said Sunday night, hours before the team traveled to the host country, Qatar.
Bento announced his 26-man roster for the big tournament Saturday afternoon in Seoul. Of those, 18 players were to take a 12:25 a.m. Monday flight to Doha. They will be joined by eight players flying in from Europe, including Son Heung-min of Tottenham Hotspur, later in the week.
One extra player, Suwon Samsung Bluewings forward Oh Hyeon-gyu, is also traveling with the team as a possible injury replacement for Son, who is recovering from a recent facial surgery. Though Bento still picked him for the World Cup, the timeline for Son’s return to training has not been determined.
Son has said he’ll be ready to play wearing a protective mask if that’s what it takes to represent the country. Son is one of three players, along with defender Kim Young-gwon and goalkeeper Kim Seung-gyu, to make the third consecutive World Cup team.
“We are happy to play in this World Cup. We will try to do our best in order to achieve the best possible results,” Bento told reporters Sunday night at Incheon International Airport before traveling to Doha. “We are thankful for the fans. We will try to do everything in order for them to feel happy with our performance and our attitude. We will try to make all of them feel proud of us.”
South Korea’s first Group H match, against Uruguay, is Nov. 24. The Taegeuk Warriors will then face Ghana on Nov. 28 and Portugal on Dec. 2. All three matches will be at Education City Stadium in Al Rayyan, just west of Doha.
South Korea will be playing in their 10th consecutive World Cup. They have been to the knockouts twice before: the semifinals in 2002, when they were the co-hosts with Japan, and the round of 16 in 2010 in South Africa, where Uruguay sent them home with a 2-1 victory. Luis Suarez scored both goals for Uruguay then, and he’s back on the team this time.
In addition to Son, left fullback Kim Jin-su is also on the mend, with a right hamstring injury having kept him off the field for the past couple of weeks.
Up front, forward Hwang Ui-jo and winger Hwang Hee-chan have been off their game this season with their respective clubs, Olympiacos FC and Wolverhampton Wanderers.
But Bento said he wasn’t looking at problems and was only focusing on solutions, noting most players on the 26-man team, including the two attackers, already have enough international experience under their belt.
“We’ll see what kind of options we’re going to take, after analyzing training sessions and conditions of players,” Bento said. “For the first game, I hope to have all the players in the best possible conditions.”
Veteran defender Kim Young-gwon said it will take a great deal of mental fortitude to overcome challenges in the World Cup.
“My fellow defenders and I will try to keep opponents off the board. This team has a lot of players capable of scoring goals,” Kim said. “We want to take this one match at a time and reach the round of 16. I am sure everyone on the team understands what we should do to get to that point.”
