Participating in the 2023 Argentina U20 World Cup, Korea took off its promising star status and built members closer to professional players than ever. This is because the proportion of K-leagues and professional experience are at an all-time high.
The 23rd U20 World Cup kicks off on the 21st (Korean time). Korea, led by manager Kim Eun-joong, were tied in Group F with France, Honduras and Gambia. After playing their first match against France on the 23rd, they will face Honduras on the 26th and Gambia on the 29th.
17 out of 21 members of this tournament belong to the K-League. There were 15 of the runner-up members of the Polish competition in 2019, an increase of two more than then. At the time of the Poland tournament, there was Lee Kang-in, who was considered one of the best talents in Korean soccer history. This time around, there are no individuals who have garnered that much attention, but it is worth using the overall competitiveness of professional players as a weapon. Among them, you can expect an unexpected star birth.
Among the pros, there are players who have already proven their competitiveness in the top K-League 1 teams. In particular, Bae Jun-ho, who is building a starting position in the 5th place team Daejeon Hana Citizen by going back and forth between starting and replacing, is the most anticipated player. He scored 1 goal in 7 matches (6 starting matches) and participated in the most K-League matches this season among the national team players. As a central midfielder, he is a top-notch prospect with good ball handling skills and passing skills. He is regarded as the ace of Team Kim Eun-joong. He has also been pointed out as a player to be watched by Jurgen Klinsmann, the A national team coach.
Kang Seong-jin, who has already scored a debut goal for representative A, has not been able to play much at FC Seoul this season, but is already a 3-year-old player who scored his K-League debut goal as a semi-professional in 2021. He was selected for the A match last year and scored his debut goal.
The player who has recently been attracting attention is Kim Ji-soo, a large prospect in the center back position. Kim Ji-soo, a member of Seongnam FC, recently drew attention when England’s Brentford proposed a transfer fee that fell under the buyout clause. While the transfer has not yet been confirmed, more European clubs are showing interest. If he is active in the U20 World Cup, the ‘second Minjae Kim’ will be able to advance to Europe in a more advantageous position. 스포츠토토
Kim Chun Sang-mu striker Lee Yeong-joon and Jeonbuk Hyundai defender Park Chang-woo are also players that are attracting attention. By team, Seoul confirmed that it is a club that has recently been working hard to nurture promising players by selecting three members Kang Seong-jin, Cho Young-gwang, and Lee Seung-jun. Two each were selected from Incheon (Park Hyun-bin, Park Seung-ho), Jeonbuk (Park Chang-woo, Kang Sang-yoon) and Gimcheon (Kim Jun-hong, Lee Young-jun).
This year, the records of U20 players participating in the K-League were quite small as they prepared for the age-specific competition. This is because he participated in the Asian Football Confederation (AFC) U20 Asian Cup last February, and was often called to the national team to digest training in preparation for the U20 World Cup. If you gain confidence in the World Cup finals and return to the K-League, your team will be able to properly utilize the rapidly growing prospect in the second half.