Korean soccer team finds rising star side defender in Seol Young-woo at 2023 AFC Asian Cup

Seol Youngwoo

The Korean national soccer team, led by coach Jurgen Klinsmann (Germany), was eliminated in the semifinals of the ‘2023 Asian Football Confederation (AFC) Asian Cup’, but discovered an excellent side defender named Seol Young-woo (Ulsan HD).

Klinsmann returns to Korea through Incheon International Airport Terminal 1 on the afternoon of the 8th (Korean time).

On the 7th, in the semi-finals of the Asian Cup held at Ahmad Bin Ali Stadium in Al Rayyan, Qatar, Korea (23rd) suffered the humiliation of being defeated for the first time in soccer history by Jordan, 87th in the FIFA rankings.

The goal of winning the championship for the first time in 64 years since winning the second competition in 1960 was in vain, but that does not mean there was no harvest. It was confirmed that Seol Young-woo is a player who is also effective on the international stage.

Seol Young-woo was selected as a right-side defender along with Kim Tae-hwan (Jeonbuk Hyundai) on the player list for this tournament. However, Lee Ki-je (Suwon Samsung) and Kim Jin-soo (Jeonbuk), who are on the left side, were caught up in injury issues during the group stage and were shifted to the left.

Seol Young-woo, who was left and right as a representative of his team and age group, also showed off his multi-player skills in Klinsmann Lake. There were question marks as there was not much activity at the A national team level yet, but Son Heung-min (Tottenham), Lee Kang-in (Paris Saint-Germain), and Kim Min-jae (Bayern Munich), who were in a solid position, showed off their strong presence.

He traveled the Asian Cup stage with stable defense, overlapping at the right time, and tireless stamina. Due to his performance in the quarterfinals against Australia (2-1 win), he was selected as one of the best elevens of the quarterfinals by the AFC.

Europe also paid attention to Seol Young-woo’s performance.

It is reported that West Ham United of the English Professional Football Premier League (EPL) and Serbian club Crvena Zvezda have included Seol Young-woo in their recruitment list.

Recently, according to Serbian media, Zvezda came to Qatar directly to contact Seol Young-woo. Zvezda is the team of Klinsmannho’s main midfielder, Hwang In-beom, and is a club that is familiar to domestic fans.

Seol Young-woo said, “It’s difficult to accurately understand the situation because it’s in the middle of a competition, but it’s true that an offer has come,” and added, “There are very few wing defenders who play in Europe at a young age, so I want to become that player and have a great desire to take on the challenge.” I hoped for the stage.

However, the Ulsan side of the professional soccer K League 1 team is in the position that it has no intention of sending starting players.

Regardless of whether Seol Young-woo is transferred or not, Korea has less worries about side defense.

Although it is rare not only in Korea but around the world to have a side defense that can be trusted, Klinsmann is expected to be able to build a stable defensive line if Seol Young-woo continues his performance.

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2024-02-08 08:45:00

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