South Korea is always in the top 5 strongest teams in Asia and is a familiar name in the World Cup arena. The Korean team has many stars playing in Europe, the most famous of which is Son Heung-min. However, the Tottenham striker is not the only name of the Korean team that has made its mark in the world's top tournaments.
Kim Min-jae
Kim Min-jae is the new idol of Korean football. This player has advanced very quickly after only 1 season playing for Napoli. The Italian team spent 18 million euros to own him from Fenerbahce and sold him to Bayern Munich for 50 million euros. The Korean midfielder is also a target of Man Utd in the summer transfer window of 2023.
Kim Min-jae has a tall body like European players. (Photo: Getty)
Kim Min-jae is a rare Asian defender who has succeeded in European football. His physique is a prominent factor of the 26-year-old player. His height of 1m90 and weight of 84kg help him dominate in the competition even with tall European players.
Facing Kim Min-jae is a big challenge for the Vietnamese team's attacking players such as Nguyen Hoang Duc, Nguyen Van Toan, and Pham Tuan Hai.
Hwang In-beom
The 26-year-old midfielder plays a very important role in the Korean team's play. He is the bridge between defense and attack.
Hwang In-beom is a technical midfielder for the South Korean national team. (Photo: Getty)
Hwang In-beom's strengths are his ball handling, passing, agility and good decision-making. The Red Star Belgrade player and Park Yong-woo are coach Jurgen Klinsmann's favourite central midfield pairing, ensuring effective ball movement and counter-attacks.
Vietnam's midfielders such as Do Hung Dung and Nguyen Tuan Anh will find it difficult to control the ball and compete in the midfield with Hwang In-beom.
Hwang Hee-chan
Hwang Hee-chan was the decisive goal that gave Man City their first defeat of the 2023/2024 Premier League season. The Wolverhampton star plays as a left-sided striker and has impressive physical strength as well as incredible speed. Even the Premier League's top centre-backs - like Virgil van Dijk - struggled to keep up with Hwang Hee-chan's "side-twisting" dribbles.
Hwang Hee-chan has a strong playing style in terms of speed and physical strength. (Photo: Getty)
The right-sided players of the Vietnamese team such as Do Duy Manh and Truong Tien Anh need to coordinate with each other to deal with Hwang Hee-chan. Facing this striker without the best full-backs will be a big challenge for coach Troussier's defense.
Lee Kang-in
Lee Kang-in is the name most mentioned by the Korean media when Son Heung-min was injured. The striker born in 2001 performed very well in the victory over Tunisia in the role of replacing Son Heung-min, playing freely next to striker Cho Gue-sung.
Lee Kang-in was once considered a prodigy of Korean football. (Photo: Getty)
The player born in 2001 was once considered a prodigy of Korean football. He played football in Europe when he was only 10 years old, playing for Valencia's youth team before making his mark at Real Mallorca. Lee Kang-in was recruited by PSG for 22 million euros in the summer transfer window of 2023.
Lee Kang-in can play in many positions in attack. Therefore, coach Jurgen Klinsmann can use him flexibly to create smoothness with other attacking stars. The German coach is calculating the plan to use both Son Heung-min and Lee Kang-in in the squad.
Son Heung-min
Son Heung-min is the best player in Korean football today. His class has been proven at Tottenham and the Premier League for many years. This season, after Harry Kane left, Son shouldered the club's goal-scoring responsibilities and he started the season impressively with 6 goals after 8 rounds.
Son Heung-min is the leader of South Korea's attack. (Photo: Getty)
In the Korean national team, Son Heung-min is often deployed as a free player alongside striker Cho Gue-sung. However, the player born in 1992 is unlikely to play in the match against the Vietnamese team. This star suffered a minor injury and did not play a single minute against Tunisia. It is likely that he will be put on the field at another time in the match.
Son Heung-min once faced some members of the Vietnamese team when participating in the 18th ASIAD. In the match 5 years ago, the Tottenham star did not score but he played outstandingly, showing his class and causing many difficulties for the Vietnamese Olympic defenders - including Do Duy Manh.
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