'King of Stoke' Bae Jun-ho (Stoke City) was called by the A national team.
The Korea Football Association announced on the 7th that it will send Bae Joon-ho, currently a member of the U-22 national team, to the A team in preparation for the match against Kuwait. Hong Myung-bo, who defeated Iraq 2-0 on the 6th and succeeded in advancing to the World Cup finals for the 11th consecutive time, will play Kuwait in the final match of the third Asian qualifying round for the 2026 North-China World Cup at Seoul World Cup Stadium on the 10th. Bae Joon-ho, who played an active role in the U-22 national team, was additionally selected.
Bae Joon-ho, who joined the A national team for the first time by interim coach Kim Do-hoon in May last year, has been steadily named in the national team since then. However, this time, the championship, which Stoke City belongs to, ends early, and was not included in the A-team list due to condition problems. Bae Joon-ho expressed regret, saying, `It is true that I expected to join the A team, but it is also true that my body is not ready compared to the players who were playing the season as head coach Hong Myung-bo said.'
Instead, Bae Jun-ho, who was included in the U-22 national team, showed a strong performance. Bae Joon-ho, who started the warm-up match against Australia on the 5th, which was coach Lee Min-sung's debut match, showed off a different class. After playing only the first half, he was replaced out. Bae Jun-ho said, `I'm definitely working with a different mindset than when I competed in the A national team"As a main player, I think I should be more responsible for every play I make as I am now in a position to lead the team."
Despite Bae Joon-ho's performance, Lee Min-sung had a 0-0 draw with Australia. The U-22 national team is scheduled to hold another warm-up match behind closed doors with Australia on the 9th.
Coach Hong, who confirmed his condition, called Bae Joon-ho back to the A team. It seems to be a choice considering Son Heung-min's physical condition, not 100% of his condition to the extent that he couldn't even sit on the bench in the last Iraq match. Son Heung-min was unable to play in the final league match due to his health, but he accompanied the A national team with a strong will. Hong Myung-bo took Iraq with Lee Kang-in's strong performance and Kim Jin-kyu (Jeonbuk) and Oh Hyun-kyu (Henk).
Team A, who returned to Korea on the 6th, will take a day off on the 7th and reconvene at Paju NFC (National Training Center) on the 8th.
This article was translated by Naver AI translator.
