S. Korea to open final training camp at home before World Cup

All News 11:20 October 27, 2022

By Yoo Jee-ho

SEOUL, Oct. 27 (Yonhap) -- South Korea on Friday will open their last training camp at home prior to the upcoming FIFA World Cup, with players on the bubble looking to capitalize on dwindling opportunities to stake claim on the final roster.

Head coach Paulo Bento will gather 27 players at the National Football Center (NFC) in Paju, just north of Seoul, Friday. Since the camp is being held outside the FIFA international match window, Bento was only able to call up players from leagues in Asia whose seasons are already over. European clubs in midseason weren't required to release their South Korean players, though most of them, including Son Heung-min of Tottenham Hotspur and Kim Min-jae of Napoli, are virtual locks for the final World Cup squad.

In this file photo from Sept. 27, 2022, South Korea head coach Paulo Bento reacts to a play during his team's friendly football match against Cameroon at Seoul World Cup Stadium in Seoul. (Yonhap)

Now, it will be a few South Korean and Japanese league players trying to make a lasting impression on the bench boss and squeeze their way onto the 26-man World Cup team.

Considering Bento's reluctance to make drastic roster changes from match to match, it's safe to assume that anywhere between 15 and 18 spots have already been determined for the World Cup. A few of those belong to K League players, leaving a precious few places for others who want to crash through the small window at this upcoming camp.

The competition on defense should be quite intriguing. Bento will have to find a suitable partner for Kim Min-jae, the all-around center back for Napoli. Ulsan Hyundai FC veteran Kim Young-gwon has the inside track, with Gamba Osaka's Kwon Kyung-won and Daejeon Hana Citizen's Cho Yu-min being the other candidates.

South Korea have had a revolving door of players in the right fullback position, and there doesn't appear to be a front runner among Ulsan's Kim Tae-hwan, Jeonbuk Hyundai Motors' Kim Moon-hwan and FC Seoul's Yoon Jong-gyu.

Bento has a wealth of options in attacking midfield spots, with Gimcheon Sangmu FC veteran Kwon Chang-hoon being pushed by a couple of rising K League stars in Um Won-sang of Ulsan and Yang Hyun-jun of Gangwon FC.

South Korea will host Iceland at 8 p.m. on Nov. 11 in Hwaseong, about 40 kilometers south of Seoul, and then Bento will announce his final 26-man World Cup squad on Nov. 12. The team will depart for Qatar on Nov. 14.

South Korea will face Uruguay on Nov. 24, Ghana on Nov. 28, and Portugal on Dec. 2 in Group H. The Taeguk Warriors are playing in their 10th consecutive World Cup and will try to reach the knockouts for only the third time, after reaching the semifinals in 2002 and the round of 16 in 2010.