There's nothing I can do Yang Min-hyuk, Park Seung-soo, failed to pick, persistent negotiation European ace, dramatically compared

Sep 14, 2025

There's nothing I can do Yang Min-hyuk, Park Seung-soo, failed to pick, persistent negotiation European ace, dramatically compared
Newcastle Park Seung-soo is watching the match from the bench against Team K League and Newcastle at Suwon World Cup Stadium on the 30th. Suwon = Reporter's wook@sportschosun.com/2025.07.30/



There's nothing I can do Yang Min-hyuk, Park Seung-soo, failed to pick, persistent negotiation European ace, dramatically compared
Photo = Portsmouth SNS Capture
There's nothing I can do Yang Min-hyuk, Park Seung-soo, failed to pick, persistent negotiation European ace, dramatically compared
Koski Keita (left) who dramatically joined Japan's U-20 national team. EPA Yonhap News
Japan's U-20 national team was able to select Keita Gosgi (19, Jurgorden) 'Ace' thanks to persistent negotiations.

Yuzo Funakoshi, head coach of Japan's U-20 national team, made the remarks on the 12th at the announcement of the list of 21 players for the 2025 FIFA U-20 World Cup finals in Chile.

Coach Funakoshi said that the U-20 World Cup, which was held in May, was postponed to September, making it difficult to play in the European leagues. "It was a really difficult selection process. I would like to take this opportunity to sincerely thank the J-League clubs, universities, and overseas clubs for their cooperation."




It is not a mandatory recruitment competition set by FIFA at the U-20 World Cup, so the recruitment of players cannot be enforced. Nevertheless, Japan selected three players with A team experience, including midfielder Sato Ryunosuke (Paziano Okayama). Sato, midfielder Yuto Ozeki (Kawasaki Frontale), and goalkeeper Aleksandr Pisano (Nagoya Grampus) were drafted side by side at the 2025 East Asian Football Federation (EAFF) E-1 Championship (East Asian Cup) held in Yongin, South Korea in July, supporting Japan's victory. Pisano, a 1-meter-97-tall goalkeeper, is a mixed-race player born to a Japanese mother and Canadian father, and became the youngest goalkeeper debutant in the history of the Japanese national team (19 years and 179 days) through the East Asian Cup match against Hong Kong.

There's nothing I can do Yang Min-hyuk, Park Seung-soo, failed to pick, persistent negotiation European ace, dramatically compared
Japan also picked three European players: Sweden's Jurgorden full-back Gosgi, France's Balancien striker Takaoka Lento, and Real Sociedad defender Kazunari. Among them, Gosgi had a hard time getting a new job until the day before the list was announced. Coach Funakoshi "At first, there was no positive response (from Jurgorden's side)"The Japanese Football Association officials and support staff negotiated patiently, and at the last minute, they were informed that they could participate in the tournament. After checking how Kosugi played for the U-22 national team, he confessed, "I made a decision yesterday (1st)." Masakuni Yamamoto, director of the U-20 national team, also said, `After persistent efforts until the end, I was able to select Kosugi. I'm very happy about it."

Kosugi, dubbed "Next Nagatomo Yuto" in Japan, joined the Swedish first division Yurgorden in March last year and is active as a key fullback. At the age of 19, he has been selected to the U-23 national team led by coach Oiwa Ko this month and is raising his stock price to the extent that he will play in the Asian Cup qualifying round. Gosgi played in all matches wearing the captain's armband at the 2023 Asian U-17 Asian Cup in Thailand. Midfielder Yotaro Nakajima (Sanprecce Hiroshima) and Ryunosuke Sato, who were included in the World Cup list, also participated in the tournament at the time. Japan met South Korea, led by current Suwon head coach Byun Sung-hwan, in the final and won with a 3-0 victory. Yang Min-hyuk (Portsmouth), Yoon Do-young (Excelcior), Park Seung-soo (Newcastle), Kim Myung-joon Kang Min-woo (Henk) and Lee Chang-woo (Pohang) played in the game, which was controversial.




There's nothing I can do Yang Min-hyuk, Park Seung-soo, failed to pick, persistent negotiation European ace, dramatically compared
There's nothing I can do Yang Min-hyuk, Park Seung-soo, failed to pick, persistent negotiation European ace, dramatically compared
Unlike Japan, the South Korean U-20 national team, led by head coach Lee Chang-won, failed to select most of the best players in the same age group, including Yang Min-hyuk, Park Seung-soo, and Yoon Do-young. One of the European players is Kim Tae-won, a striker from Portimonens, Portugal. It consisted of 19 K-League players, 10 K-League 2 players, and one college player. South Korea will play three consecutive Group B games against Ukraine on the 28th, Paraguay on the 1st of October, and Panama on the 4th.

In an interview earlier, Lee said, `Most of the players who will play in the U-20 national team are going abroad early"There's nothing we can do. You have to transfer from your team to pick. I have no choice but to constantly ask for it." After unveiling the final list of the World Cup, "The players gathered now are the strongest players. It would have been nice if overseas players came in, but the players gathered now are also professional players and showed a competitive side in the team"I agonized while making the list, but I brushed it off as of yesterday (8th). Since this is the last time for the U-20 World Cup, I will move forward without worrying about it"I threw my hat in the ring. South Korea, which was the runner-up at the 2019 Poland competition and reached the semifinals at the 2023 Argentina competition, is aiming to advance to the semifinals for the third consecutive time.

Meanwhile, Japan belongs to Group A and fights Egypt, Chile, and New Zealand in turn. Japan was eliminated in the group stage at the Argentina tournament.




◇2025 U-20 World Cup Final List (21)

GK= Gong Si-hyun (Jeonbuk Hyundai), Park Sang-young (Daegu FC), Hong Seong-min (Pohang Steelers)

DF= Ko Jong-hyun, Lee Kun-hee (Suwon Samsung), Kim Ho-jin (Yongin University), Bae Hyun-seo (FC Seoul), Shin Min-ha (Gangwon FC), Lim Joon-young (Chungbuk Cheongju FC), Ham Sun-woo (Hwaseong FC)

MF=Kim Tae-won (Portimonens, Portugal) Kim Joon-ha, Choi Byung-wook (Jeju SK), Kim Hyun-min (Busan I'Park), Baek Min-gyu, Choi Seung-gu (Incheon United), Sung-shin (Bucheon FC1995), Son Seung-min (Daegu FC), Jung Ma-ho (Chungnam Asan FC)

FW = Kim Hyun-oh (Daejeon Hana Citizen), Baek Gaon (Busan I'Park)



This article was translated by Naver AI translator.