Director Hong Myung-bo's castrope is fighter-like...Son Heung-min chooses to change his captain, constantly agonizing (answer)
Aug 25, 2025
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This is what Hong Myung-bo, coach of the South Korean national football team, said.
Coach Hong Myung-bo announced his call-up list for the two consecutive A matches in September at the Seoul Football Center on the 25th. Korea will play two warm-up matches against the U.S. (6 a.m. on September 7) and Mexico (10 a.m. on September 10). It is the beginning of the 2026 North Korea-China World Cup. South Korea won the 11th consecutive World Cup qualifying round with a 'unbeaten' in the third Asian qualifying round. Hong Myung-bo will travel to the U.S., where the World Cup will be held, to experience the actual stage.
There is a name that stands out. He is Jens Kastrov (Mönchengladbach) who is a dual Korean and German national. He became the first foreign-born mixed-race player to join the A national team. There were Jang Dae-il (retired) and Kang Soo-il (Ansan) as mixed-race national team members, but both were born in Korea. Born in Germany, Kastrov had a Korean mother and a German father. The administrative procedure was completed as Kastrov's association was changed from Germany (DFB) to the Korea Football Association (KFA). Coach Hong has already checked Castrov's performance.
Hong added `Kastrov to the national team list. Although he is young, he has already grown steadily by experiencing it on the German stage. Above all, he showed a strong will and responsibility to join Korea. I appreciated it. I hope you adapt quickly this time. I think his passion will be his strength and revitalize him,' he said.'Since he is a coach, he selected based only on the player's competitive side. Recently, a coach from Gyeonggi Province went to the scene and saw it in person. He is a slightly different type of player from the central midfielder in the third line. There are Hwang In-beom, Kim Jin-gyu, Park Yong-woo, and Won Doo-jae, but (Kastrov) is a fighter. It's a very rough style in it. I think it would be good to think that the type is a little different from the third-term players now. I think it could be a plus for our team."
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The following is a Q&A session with director Hong Myung-bo.
- background of selection.
▶Jens Kastrov has been included in the national team list. Although he is young, he has already grown steadily by experiencing it on the German stage. Above all, he showed a strong will and responsibility to join Korea. I appreciated it. I hope you adapt quickly this time. I think his passion will become an advantage and revitalize him. Jung Sang-bin was included this time. He is showing good performance after transfer. Especially in the U.S. There are no unnecessary problems. Jung Sang-bin was called to check his performance. Several players who helped advance to the World Cup during the third qualifying round were not selected. But they are fully proven players. They are players that can be called at any time. A few players were excluded. This time, players were selected according to the U.S. concept.
- Has the castrope problem been solved.
▶The Korea Football Association discussed with the German Football Association. (Players) also took administrative action on their own. The institutional problems I thought of will be carried out in the future, but there was no problem at all in getting selected for the national team this time.
- Some players have few chances to play in the game.
▶I didn't check all the off-season, but foreign coaches went and checked. I watched all the games of the players who started the season early. EPL, Bundesliga is a little late. We saw it all and made the selection. It's still a problem, but I think it's an important issue in the future. I think it is important to play in the World Cup finals in June next year, including environmental factors. We will continue to check that out in Europe, but we continue to discuss it at the level of the Korea Football Association. As a result, I think a new plan will come out at some point. I think there is only one way we can keep communicating and check. I think the best way is to observe it consistently.
- How to use Castrov's national team.
▶So far, there has been an external influence. Since I'm a coach, I only selected the player based on his performance aspect. Recently, a coach from Gyeonggi Province went to the scene and saw it in person. He is a slightly different type of player from the central midfielder in the third line. There are Hwang In-beom, Kim Jin-gyu, Park Yong-woo, and Won Doo-jae, but (Kastrov) is a fighter. It's a very rough style in it. I think it would be good to think that the type is a little different from the third-term players now. I think it can be a plus for our team.
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▶In the meantime, we can tell you that the Asian qualifying round is in the stable stage. The most important thing is that it was the World Cup finals. From now on, I think it's the verification stage. There was something positive about the players' performance at the East Asian Cup. We don't know what will happen to the World Cup in a year. I'm watching that part very closely. In the case of A matches, the World Cup Stadium in the United States and the U.S. Soccer Stadium are similar in terms of non-match aspects. Inside the game, the United States and Mexico are teams with home ground advantages. It's a strong team. It will be a good test in terms of physicality, speed, etc. We are going to apply to this warm-up match how fast the offense and defense can be converted in the World Cup finals. We also have plans to test the three-back we used at the East Asian Cup, focusing on European teams.
- Could there be a change in the argument.
▶We keep thinking about that part. What choices you make is a very important point for both the individual and the team. From the beginning, he has not made such a decision to change his argument or not. However, I think we should constantly think about what choice would be best for the team.
- How do you see Son Heung-min's change and performance.
▶I made the choice myself, but from our point of view, it is a good choice. I think it will be a great help to the national team to be able to go out on the field and show continuously. It is also a positive aspect for the national team to be able to perform well and score at the stage of adapting to the new league and environment. I will continue to watch Son Heung-min's performance. I'm going to help you maintain a good performance without injury.
- Can it be interpreted to the effect that the argument may be changed.
▶It may or may not be changed. I didn't make that choice now. It may or may not be. The answer may feel ambiguous, but I'm telling you because I didn't.
- the standard of national team captain.
▶There are many things. The captain's role in facing the big stage of the World Cup will also require experience. As expected, arguments require leadership. Anyway, I don't know because I haven't made a claim. There is nothing I can tell you directly at the moment. Son Heung-min has done very well enough, and I think he is doing well.
- Son Heung-min is classified as a striker.
▶We once played Son Heung-min as a striker in the third Asian qualifying round. In some cases, other players can play Son Heung-min's role well, so I think it's not about how long Son Heung-min plays, but when and at what point he plays a decisive role. I think I can play that role enough.
This article was translated by Naver AI translator.
