Dong-A Asian Cup Start Hong Myung-bo, Battleground has the most CB new faces and opportunities

Jul 02, 2025

Dong-A Asian Cup Start Hong Myung-bo, Battleground has the most CB new faces and opportunities
The final match of Group B of the third Asian qualifying round for the 2026 North-China World Cup between South Korea and Kuwait at Seoul World Cup Stadium on the 10th. Coach Hong Myung-bo is preparing for the game. Sangam = Reporter Jung Jae-geun cjg@sportschosun.com /2025.6.10/



Dong-A Asian Cup Start Hong Myung-bo, Battleground has the most CB new faces and opportunities
Hong Myung-bo, who has confirmed his trip to North Korea and the U.S., will start to distinguish between jade and stone.

The national soccer team A, which will participate in the 2025 East Asian Football Federation (EAFF) E-1 Championship, will convene on the 3rd and start its first training at Seongnam Stadium. Except for Na Sang-ho, Oh Se-hoon (hereinafter, Machida) and Kim Tae-hyun (Kashima), who will join on the 6th, 23 players will join. Coach Hong revealed the list of 23 players, including 20 K Leaguers and 3 J Leaguers, on the 23rd of last month, but as the entry expanded, additional Joo Min-kyu (Daejeon), Kang Sang-yoon (Jeonbuk), and Mo Jae-hyun (Gangwon) were selected.

The E-1 Championship was first held in 2003, the year after EAFF was founded. The three strongest teams in East AsiaSouth Korea, China, and Japan participate automatically, and take turns hosting the competition. Hong Kong joined this year. South Korea won the most five times, and Japan and China won the top twice, respectively. The defending champion is Japan, the 2022 winner.




This year's competition, which marks its 10th anniversary, will be held in South Korea. It will be held in three cities (Yongin, Suwon, and Hwaseong) in Gyeonggi Province from the 7th to the 16th. All men's games will be played at Yongin Mir Stadium. Starting with the opening match against China at 8 p.m. on the 7th, Hong Myung-bo will face Hong Kong at 8 p.m. on the 11th and Japan at 7:24 p.m. on the 15th.

As East Asian rivals face off, the outcome is important, but what is more important is the process. The E-1 Championship is the starting line for the final entry competition for the North Korea-China World Cup. Coach Hong selected as many as nine new faces and began a full-fledged experiment. In particular, as both European and Middle Eastern players will be convened during the official A-match period, including the U.S. expedition in September this year, this tournament could be the first and last opportunity for K-League and J-League players to make a clear impression on Hong.

Dong-A Asian Cup Start Hong Myung-bo, Battleground has the most CB new faces and opportunities
Dong-A Asian Cup Start Hong Myung-bo, Battleground has the most CB new faces and opportunities
The most notable position among them is the center back. Hong selected 53 players during the third qualifying round, testing several players across all positions. Centerback was the exception. Only seven players were selected throughout the preliminary round, and all of them were used. As a sense of stability is an absolutely important position, 'Veteran+Overseas' dominated. Cho Yoo-min (Sharja) and Kwon Kyung-won (Korpakan) were mainly given the opportunity, centering on Kim Min-jae (Bayern Munhan).

As Europe and the Middle East, which had a central defense, have all been excluded this time, head coach Hong has set out to make a new edition. As a result, Kim Tae-hyun (Ulsan) and Byun Jun-su (Gwangju) wore the national flag for the first time, except for Kim Joo-sung (Seoul). Unlike other positions, which have a large number of existing main members and players with past A team experience, the central defense has the biggest range of change. Kim Joo-sung also played only three A matches, so it is no exaggeration to say that virtually everyone is new faces.

The four central defenders have similar skills, so it's not strange for anyone to play. The advantages are also different. Kim Joo-sung shows strength in build-up, Kim Tae-hyun in excellent physicality, the signature hall in one-on-one mark, and Byun Jun-su in height. Kim Joo-sung, Kim Tae-hyun, and Byun Jun-su, the signatory of 'right footer', are expected to take turns playing. It is expected that we will receive that many opportunities.

If they perform as well as expected, there can be a big change in the central defense. While healthy Kim Min-jae is likely to stick to one spot, the remaining three to four digits are flexible. With Cho Yoo-min one step ahead, he is expected to compete fiercely with Kwon Kyung-won and Lee Han-beom (Mit Willan). As Coach Hong has expressed his intention to use young players in the finals several times, there is certainly an opportunity for the players selected this time. Kim Tae-hyun, Kim Joo-sung (25) Byeon Jun-su (24) and Signature Hall (23) were all born in 2000. This E-1 Championship could be the starting point for a generational change in defense.






This article was translated by Naver AI translator.