Oh Hyunkyu's friend Kangin sometimes doesn't want to show off, but I respect him for winning the Champions League
Jun 08, 2025
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In a standing interview held at the Paju National Football Center (NFC) at 4 p.m. on the 8th, Oh Hyun-kyu said of Lee Kang-in (Paris Saint-Germain) and Son Heung-min (Tottenham), who won the European Champions League and Europa League in the 2024-2025 season, respectively. "It seems a blessing to see the European champion up close like this. My friend Kangin, who won the Champions League, sometimes shows off so much that he doesn't want to see it, but I really respect him. Heung-min also won a competition featuring only European powerhouses. I'm a teammate of the national team now, but I'm happy from a fan's point of view just that the player I respected since I was young won the championship."
The national team confirmed its advance to the World Cup finals for the 11th consecutive time by winning 2-0 with Kim Jin-kyu and Oh Hyun-kyu's consecutive goals in the ninth match of the third Asian qualifying round for the 2026 North-China World Cup against Iraq on the 6th. Oh Hyun-kyu scored his A-match debut goal in the third World Cup qualifying match against Jordan (2-0 win) on October 10 last year and immediately scored consecutive goals in the match against Iraq (3-2 win) on the 15th. Oh Hyun-kyu, who has not scored in four consecutive games since then, replaced Oh Se-hoon (Machida Zelvia) in the 15th minute of the second half and scored an additional goal in the 37th minute of the second half. Oh Hyun-kyu scored three goals, the most in the team, along with captain Son Heung-min and midfielder Lee Jae-sung in the third qualifying round of the World Cup. South Korea has a significant stake in advancing to the World Cup finals for the 11th consecutive time. In addition, all three of those goals were written as second-half jokers.
Oh Hyun-kyu said, `I always have the mindset that I should show something whenever the coach gives me a chance. Rather than being burdened, if I show you what I have, I'm confident that I'll do well" "I think I do my best at the given time no matter how many minutes I run. Strikers always seem to be like that. If you are greedy, you will feel that your goal will be far away, and you will relax and be relaxedThere's always a chance when you see it. I'm happy to run for even a few minutes with the national flag on.
Oh Hyun-kyu put Jeon Jin-woo (Jeonbuk), who gave assist after scoring, on his knee and wiped it. The two had the same ceremony when they were working together at Suwon Samsung. "He is a senior and junior who has been playing soccer together since middle and high school. It's like a family because they're colleagues who spent good days and hard days together. I could tell just by looking at his eyes. So I ran in without thinking, and Jin Woo-hyung (in time for the timing) put the ball in, so I was able to score a goal. The ceremony suddenly occurred to me, so I improvised it."
What was the atmosphere in the locker room of the national team right after the World Cup was confirmed. Oh Hyun-kyu said "I remember what Heung-min said. Heung-min said 'It may be natural for someone to advance to the World Cup, but it is not natural for any country. You may feel natural because the country of Korea is so strong and there are so many good players, but we should also enjoy this moment of advancing to the World Cup because it is what we have done and what all the people have done. At this moment, I hope we can enjoy it together more happily. It was a pity that we couldn't enjoy it together due to the situation in Iraq, but I hope we can enjoy it together after the match against Kuwait" South Korea will play the final match of the third World Cup qualifying round against Kuwait at 8 p.m. on the 10th at Seoul World Cup Stadium.
Oh Hyun-kyu was included in the preliminary entry at the 2022 Qatar World Cup. He couldn't go on the World Cup stage in person, and watched South Korea advance to the round of 16 in the "1st row of spectators". Oh Hyun-kyu, who is aiming to make his World Cup debut in North and Central America, said, `The experience at that time helped me greatly. I think I'll be very nervous if I go to a stage where even the air is unfamiliar for the first time, but I've watched it all up close. I saw the older brothers having a hard time and suffered joy, sorrow, and sorrow. I really want to go to the next World Cup. I think this period of waiting for the World Cup is the biggest motivation in my life."
This article was translated by Naver AI translator.
