With their midfield corps decimated by injuries, South Korea will lean on new faces to pick up the slack in a friendly match against Bolivia this week.
South Korea, world No. 22, will host 76th-ranked Bolivia at 8 p.m. Friday at Daejeon World Cup Stadium in Daejeon, some 140 kilometers south of Seoul.
This will be the first of two matches for South Korea during the final international window for this year. The Taegeuk Warriors will bring Ghana to Seoul World Cup Stadium at 8 p.m. Tuesday.
Coached by Hong Myung-bo, South Korea will be without three key midfielders for these matches. Feyenoord midfielder Hwang In-beom recently suffered a thigh injury that will keep him out for six to eight weeks. Hwang has been a key midfielder for the national team for a few years, the defensive conscience who can also generate scoring chances with sharp passes.
One of the candidates to replace Hwang in that role, Paik Seung-ho of Birmingham City, sustained a left shoulder injury during his club match over the weekend and will also miss the national team matches.
On Sunday, Ulsan HD FC winger Lee Dong-gyeong broke a rib during his K League 1 match and was cut from the national team the following day.
The Korea Football Association chose not to name a replacement for Hwang. Injuries to both Paik and Lee forced the KFA's hands, and Seo Min-woo of Gangwon FC and Bae Jun-ho of Stoke City FC were newly selected to the squad Monday.
Among those already on the team, Jens Castrop of Borussia Monchengladbach, a German native with a Korean mother, may get another look in the midfield after appearing in three of South Korea's past four matches. Hong has praised Castrop's physical and feisty play, noting that the 22-year-old brings some new elements to the national team.
Kim Jin-gyu of Jeonbuk Hyundai Motors, with 16 caps, has started next to both Hwang and Paik in recent matches, and he can offer a little more offensive punch than Castrop.
Bae, who has earned 10 caps, brings many of the similar qualities as Lee, with both being offensive-minded wingers who aren't afraid to fire shots.
South Korea will have no shortage of scoring options up front, led by Los Angeles Football Club superstar Son Heung-min and KRC Genk striker Oh Hyeon-gyu.
FC Midtjylland forward Cho Gue-sung made it back to the national team for the first time since March 2024 and has shown decent form since returning from a long injury layoff in August. However, Hong said Monday he didn't want to put too much pressure on Cho right away and hinted at limited usage for the 27-year-old attacker during this window.
In goal, two World Cup veterans, Jo Hyeon-woo and Kim Seung-gyu, have split starting assignments over the past four matches, and may do so again this month as Hong tries to determine his No. 1 man for the World Cup.
Jo was the top goalkeeper at the 2018 World Cup but Kim had that job four years later. After Kim suffered a serious knee injury during the 2024 Asian Football Confederation Asian Cup, Jo reemerged as the undisputed first-choice keeper.
Kim returned to the national team mix in September to add some intrigue to the goalkeeping picture.
South Korea and Bolivia last met in March 2019, when South Korea prevailed 1-0 in a friendly match in the southeastern city of Ulsan. (Yonhap)
