Kim Eun-joong, who prepares for the FIFA U-20 World Cup, does not have much time. About a month until the World Cup, he gathers 25 people before being selected for the final entry and has a final test in Korea.
On the afternoon of the 24th, the national team led by coach Kim Eun-joong was convened at the Paju National Team Training Center (NFC). Prior to his first training session, coach Kim said, “It’s a short time ahead of the tournament, but I will check and figure out many things.” While training for three days, the national team will play K-League 1 Incheon United on the 25th and Incheon National University on the 26th.
The national team will participate in the U-20 World Cup held in Argentina from the 20th of next month to the 11th of June in local time. Korea competes in Group F with France, Gambia and Honduras. The goal of the national team, which won runner-up with Lee Kang-in (Mallorca) at the 2019 tournament held in Poland, looks beyond that. However, it is not easy to prepare for the suddenly changed venue. Originally, the tournament was scheduled to be held in Indonesia, but with Israel participating, anti-Israel public opinion in Indonesia, an Islamic country, increased and the venue was moved. With Argentina selected as the new venue, time is running out. Coach Kim, who heads directly to Argentina for the base camp and field inspection immediately after this call, said, “The training schedule is bound to change due to jet lag. I needed time to go out in advance and adapt to the environment,” he said. “Since the situation in all participating countries is similar, I will check and prepare as closely as possible.”
This national team was composed of players who cooperated with the selection as the K-League season was in full swing. Cho Jae-hoon (Pohang) and Park Chang-woo (Jeonbuk), who were initially included, were dropped at the request of their team, and striker Park Joon-young (Seoul E-Land) was selected as an alternative resource. In March, members of the Asian Football Confederation (AFC) U-20 Asian Cup, including Lee Young-jun, Kim Jun-hong (Gimcheon Lee), and Hwang In-taek (Seoul E-Land), were also called back. New faces such as Lee Seung-jun (Seoul), the second son of Lee Eul-yong, the general manager of the Yongin City Football Center, the ‘2002 Korea-Japan World Cup Legend’, will also be put to the test.스포츠토토
Manager Kim said, “Anyway, there are many players who can’t play a lot on the team. I will focus on the physical fitness of the game,” he said. “I don’t know that I just picked these players. These are the players I have seen since last season, and I mainly selected players with good form recently. I hope the players take a chance,” he said, stimulating his competitive spirit. The fighting spirit of the players also flares up. Lee Yeongjun, who played as a striker in the Asian Cup, said, “There are many good players in Gimcheon. I can’t play many games, but I’m learning a lot from training and games.” Lee Seung-jun also expressed his determination, saying, “I was selected for the national team for the first time, and I want to seize the opportunity to participate in the World Cup by showing my strengths, confidence, reckless play, and grit on the ground.”