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Lee Ki-je, Korea national soccer team

The Korean national soccer team, which is attempting to win the Asian Football Confederation (AFC) Asian Cup for the first time in 64 years, faced a crisis in its fullback position from the beginning. Since the side defender is one of the most important positions in modern soccer, repeated injuries to the side defenders are bound to be a concern for Klinsmann.

The Korean national soccer team, led by coach Jurgen Klinsmann, conducted recovery training at the Al Egla Training Center in Doha, Qatar, on the 21st (Korean time).

Excluding Seung-gyu Kim (Al-Shabab), who was previously discharged from the military, only 23 of the 25 participated in the training that day.

A national team official said, “Lee Ki-je (Suwon) suffered a right hamstring injury in the match against Jordan the previous day. The extent of his injury is not yet clear, and he was excluded from training as it was judged that he needed rest and rehabilitation. “Kim Tae-hwan (Jeonbuk) missed training to receive treatment on his right calf, which had previously been uncomfortable,” he explained.

Coincidentally, both of the two players excluded from training today due to injuries are side defenders. In addition, the three side defenders, including Kim Jin-su (Jeonbuk), who suffered a left calf muscle injury during field training in Abu Dhabi, United Arab Emirates (UAE), are not in perfect condition.

Seol Young-woo, Korean national soccer team

In addition, Seol Young-woo (Ulsan), who played the full 90 minutes on both the left and right sides in the first and second games, will inevitably face a physical burden. Last year, Seol Young-woo played non-stop for his team, the A national team, and the Asian Games national team.

The condition of the four fullbacks named in the final entry is all worrying.

Kim Tae-hwan of the Korean national soccer team breaks through in the match between Jordan and Korea in the second match of the group E of the 2023 Asian Football Confederation (AFC) Qatar Asian Cup held at Al Thumama Stadium in Doha, Qatar on the 20th (local time).

Coach Klinsmann is also worried about the continued departure of side defenders. We are also considering changes in formation, such as changing the positions of players who sometimes played as fullbacks in their teams, such as Lee Sun-min (Daejeon) and Hong Hyun-seok (Gent), and switching to three backs. 19가이드03