‘After AG, to Klinsmann Lake’ Seol Young-woo, Hong Hyun-seok, Lee Kang-in, Jung Woo-young, the key is ‘physical fitness management’

As soon as the Asian Games are over, it’s important to stay fit for the quartet that will join Klinsmann.

The South Korean national soccer team, led by head coach Jürgen Klinsmann, announced its October call-up list on Oct. 2. Captain Son Heung-min (Tottenham Hotspur), defensive center back Kim Min-jae (Bayern Munich), Hwang In-beom (Tsubenazu Bezuda), Hwang Hee-chan (Wolverhampton Wanderers), and Cho Kyu-sung (Meatwillan) were all named.

Four players currently playing at the Asian Games are also included. Jung Woo-young 토토사이트(VfB Stuttgart), Lee Kang-in (Paris Saint-Germain), Seol Young-woo (Ulsan Hyundai), and Hong Hyun-seok (KAA Hent), who played with coach Hwang Sun-hong for the gold medal, were named to the A team. They will join Klinsmann as soon as the tournament concludes. There are two games left in the tournament. They will be called up to the national team after the semifinals on April 4 and the final, or third- and fourth-place matches, on April 7.

Two of the players, Seol Young-woo and Hong Hyun-seok, have been with the national team for over a month. They joined the Asian Games squad in September after playing in the European Trials and have been competing since then. The October A match will conclude on October 17. The two players will have a month and a half to fulfill their national team schedule from early September to mid-October.

Seol Young-woo’s schedule was especially tough. Hong Hyun-seok didn’t have to deal with jet lag as he played in the Belgian league and only had to play against Wales before joining the Asian Games squad. Seol, on the other hand, traveled from South Korea to Europe, where he started both games against Wales and Saudi Arabia, before joining Hwang Sun-hong Ho in China for the Asian Games.

The good news is that Hwang has been able to control Seol’s playing time. Both Seol and Hong Hyun-seok played in all five games before the quarterfinals, but their minutes differed. Seol came off the bench against Kuwait, Bahrain, and China, playing just 11, 11, and 4 minutes respectively. Hong Hyun-seok has gotten more playing time. In terms of total minutes played, Seol played 201 minutes, more than one game less than Hong Hyun-seok, who played 323 minutes.

Jung Woo-young and Lee Kang-in are not pushing themselves too hard. Both players were left off the A-match roster in September. Lee was sidelined for about a month with a thigh injury and was unable to participate in the national team’s schedule. Jung Woo-young has also been playing throughout the tournament, but has only played 282 minutes as he’s been in and out of the starting lineup. He is in good enough shape to lead the tournament in goals. Lee Kang-in, a late addition to Hwang’s squad, only started against Kyrgyzstan in the round of 16. He played a total of 124 minutes in that game, so he hasn’t been overused.

However, his playing time will likely increase in the remaining two games. These are two games that will require maximum concentration, which will take a toll on their stamina. Also, the players are not at 100%. Lee Kang-in still hasn’t fully recovered from his injury, and Seol Young-woo has been on a roll, so he’ll need to be managed more carefully.