A dozen players based in the domestic K League were named Monday to Robert Moreno's first squad for the men's national soccer team.
Moreno, the Spanish coach appointed South Korea's interim head coach Sept. 1, unveiled his 30-man roster for the Taegeuk Warriors' next four matches at a news conference at Korea Football Park in Cheonan, some 80 kilometers south of Seoul.
South Korea will host Ecuador on Sept. 24, Uruguay on Sept. 28, Venezuela on Oct. 2 and Uzbekistan on Oct. 6.
The 12 K League players represent a larger-than-usual share of the South Korean squad. At this year's FIFA World Cup, for instance, only seven of the 26 players represented the domestic league.
Moreno's first roster includes several mainstays, including captain Son Heung-min (Los Angeles FC), defender Kim Min-jae (Bayern Munich) and midfielders Lee Kang-in (Atletico Madrid) and Hwang In-beom (FC Porto).
Moreno also selected three newcomers: Incheon United defender Kim Geon-hui, Gimcheon Sangmu midfielder Park Tae-jun and Rangers midfielder Kim Min-su.
There are four goalkeepers on the team, one more than usual, as Gu Sung-yu of K League 1 leader FC Seoul joins veterans Jo Hyeon-woo, Kim Seung-gyu and Song Bum-keun.
The Korea Football Association is also trying to schedule two more matches in November.
Moreno is under contract through Nov. 27, with the KFA hoping to appoint a permanent head coach before the Asian Football Confederation Asian Cup in January. However, a clause in Moreno's contract allows him to remain in charge for the Asian Cup, depending on South Korea's performances in his first six matches.
South Korean soccer is trying to turn the page after the national team's group-stage elimination at this year's FIFA World Cup. Then-coach Hong Myung-bo and KFA President Chung Mong-gyu both resigned after the tournament. Both have also faced a police investigation into the KFA's much-criticized hiring of Hong in July 2024. (Yonhap)
