First starter Castrov, second experiment also passed...Hong Myung-bo, I found a custom vacuum cleaner

Sep 10, 2025

First starter Castrov, second experiment also passed...Hong Myung-bo, I found a custom vacuum cleaner
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It's the first time in my life that I started with the national flag. Again, the value was sufficiently brilliant.

Jens Kastrov (22, Mönchengladbach) also played well against Mexico. Castrov started a friendly match against Mexico at Geodyspark in Nashville, Tennessee on the 10th (Korea time) and played 45 minutes in the first half.

Castrov, who teamed up with Park Yong-woo as the center midfielder, got off to a good start by blocking opponent teams' passes from the right side of the Mexican side in the second minute of the game. In the 9th minute of the first half, he took the ball from the right side of the center circle, overcame the competition, connected the pass to his teammate, and opened a cross opportunity for Kim Moon-hwan, who penetrated the right side with an exquisite movement.




His performance continued. In the 13th minute of the first half, he won a ball cleared by the opponent's defender from the left side of the Mexican camp arc with a header, which became the starting point for Oh Hyun-kyu's shot to the left of the gate. In the 19th minute of the first half, he blocked Mexico's pass that led to the right side of the arc and connected to Lee Kang-in, which led to Oh Hyun-kyu's sole chance on the left side of the gate. In the 28th minute of the first half, it was also revealed that he gave the opponent a chance to counterattack due to a pass miss, but in the 35th minute of the first half, he blocked the pass of Mexican players and calmly handed the ball to Lee Kang-in while the opponent was surrounded.

First starter Castrov, second experiment also passed...Hong Myung-bo, I found a custom vacuum cleaner
Yonhap News
There was also happening. In the 27th minute of the first half, when Mexico midfielder Marcel Ruiz fell during the contest on the right side of the center circle, Mexican national team coach Javier Aguirre ran off the bench and screamed. Then, Kastrov is also seen responding without losing. It was a scene where he had little A-match experience, but he wanted to do his part without being intimidated.

According to soccer statistics site Footmob, Castro made a total of 31 ball touches and 19 of his 24 pass opportunities, recording an accuracy of 79%. He recorded one pass connection to the final third. In defense, he recovered five times, recording the most number of times in both teams along with Lee Kang-in. He has won three of the five contests. Footmob rated the South Korean team 6.4 points in the first half, while Castrov scored 6.5 points.




First starter Castrov, second experiment also passed...Hong Myung-bo, I found a custom vacuum cleaner
Yonhap News
In the match against Mexico, Castrov showed his crisp movements and calmness in the midfield. It also complied with instantaneous response capabilities and location selection. Considering that he is a young player with little experience in the top league as well as A-match, it was worth evaluating not only the current team contribution but also the future as a resource to look forward to.

One of the complementary points of Hong Myung-bo ahead of the 2026 North Korea-China World Cup finals was securing a central midfielder that can be used in various ways of offense and defense. Son Heung-min (LA FC), Lee Kang-in (PSG), and Hwang In-beom (Feyenoord) are in the second line, but the so-called ' to support the front by competing with the opponent with more weight in the defensive role in the midfield??I needed a player to do the silver work. Park Jin-seop, who also serves as a center back and defensive midfielder at Jeonbuk Hyundai, played the role, but there were many opinions that there should be another player to compete within the national team. Castrov's performance in the U.S. and Mexico games was enough to solve this homework. It is Hong Myung-bo who found 'customized vacuum cleaner' on the first experimental stage in preparation for the finals.





This article was translated by Naver AI translator.