Castrov, who chose his mother's country, is thrilled to debut + explosive national pride! I'm so happy

Sep 08, 2025

Castrov, who chose his mother's country, is thrilled to debut explosive national pride! I'm so happy
Yonhap News



Jens Kastrov (Mönchengladbach), who chose "Mother's Country", expressed his feelings about his debut for the national team.

Castrov was substituted in the second half of the warm-up match against the U.S. at Sports Illustrated Stadium in New Jersey on the 7th (Korea time). Castrov, who has established himself as a defensive midfielder, demonstrated why coach Hong Myung-bo chose him by showing active activity and fighting power even though it was a short time. It was the day when he made his debut as a member of the Korean national team under the national flag, which was considered the "next generation national team" while playing for the German national team by age.

After the game, Castrov expressed his feelings through his SNS. He left a picture of the game wearing the national team uniform, along with an English message 'Very happy about my but and big thanks to the team and the fans!' and a Korean message 'I'm really happy to make my first national team debut, and thank you very much for your support and support. The last photo was taken with the uniform with his name 'JENS' and number 23rd Street in the composition where the Taegeuk mark was best revealed.




Castrov, who chose his mother's country, is thrilled to debut explosive national pride! I'm so happy
◇photo source=Jens Kastroff SNS
Kastrov was born into a multicultural family founded in Germany by his German father and Korean mother. Having been drawing attention as a next-generation resource for the German national team beyond the Bundesliga due to his outstanding skills, Kastrov chose the Republic of Korea as a place to fulfill his dream of becoming an adult representative. Expectations and concerns crossed when head coach Hong Myung-bo included him on the call-up list for the warm-up match in September. Although he/she has enough skills to compete in the national team, he/she is good at English, but he/she has been evaluated as having a lot of things to overcome, such as language and culture.

Kastroff quickly melted into the national team. He hung out with Kim Min-jae (Bayern Munich) and Lee Jae-sung (Mainz), who faced enemies in the Bundesliga, without hesitation, and his teammates, including Son Heung-min (LAFC), also claimed to be helpers. Ahead of the game, Kastrov said, `I want to help the national team play well in the World Cup as well. Being here has already been a dream come true. I want to show my skills so that the coach can choose me at the World Cup." Coach Hong Myung-bo made a successful debut against the United States, saying, `It was my first game, but I came out of the stadium to prepare well in my own way. I think it will continue to be a good help to the team in the future."

Castrov, who chose his mother's country, is thrilled to debut explosive national pride! I'm so happy
Yonhap News
In the match against the United States, Castrov played various roles, including linking with the defense and pressing on the offensive side. He also showed enough skills such as off-the-ball movement, dribbling, and de-pressure. The match against Mexico, which is considered one-up in individual skills and overall team power compared to the United States, is expected to be another test for Castrov.




After selecting the national team, Kastroff said, "I will do my best to become a proud player with passion, dedication, and respect as I represent the Republic of Korea."It was emphasized. Attention is focusing on whether he, who achieved his dream of becoming a national team member through the match against the U.S., will continue his step toward the 2026 North Korea-China World Cup finals.



Reporter Park Sang-kyung ppark@sportschosun.com






This article was translated by Naver AI translator.