"Rather a chance, this must also pass" Kim Min-jae → Lee Kang-in 'Out', Hong Myung-bo's biggest crisis in advancing to the 11th World Cup...Jordan War 'Writes Up' New Face
"Rather a chance, this must also pass" Kim Min-jae → Lee Kang-in 'Out', Hong Myung-bo's biggest crisis in advancing to the 11th World Cup...Jordan War 'Writes Up' New Face
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Hong Myung-bo, who is trying to advance to the World Cup finals for the 11th time in a row, faced the biggest crisis.
Kim Min-jae (Bayern Munich), the "nuclear of the defensive line," failed to call up early due to left Achilles tendonitis. Lee Kang-in (Paris Saint-Germain) also lost his "nuclear of attack." Lee Kang-in was lifted from the call-up with Baek Seung-ho (Birmingham City) and Jung Seung-hyun (Al-Wasl) on Tuesday.
South Korea tied Oman 1-1 in Group B of the third Asian qualifying round for the 2026 North China-U.S. World Cup held at Goyang Stadium on Tuesday. Team Hong Myung-bo maintained its No. 1 ranking with four wins, three draws and 15 points, but is still in thin ice. Jordan crushed Palestine 3-1 in the seventh game with 12 points, and pushed Iraq to the second place (three wins, three draws and one loss).
Iraq had a 2-2 draw with Kuwait. Iraq and Jordan share the same score point but lagged behind in goal difference (Iraq +2, Jordan +6). In the third qualifying round, the top and second place in each group will win the ticket to directly advance to the World Cup finals in North Korea and the U.S.
The team has been cruising steadily. It is still undefeated. However, it stopped just before the ninth ridge for North Korea, China and the U.S. Lee Kang-in collapsed in the match against Oman. He joined the team for the last time on Wednesday due to his team's schedule.
A national team coach Hong Myung-bo has been excluded from the starting lineup in order to recover condition. He thought of putting him in the second half. However, Baek Seung-ho was injured in the 35th minute of the first half. Lee Kang-in hurriedly stepped on the ground in the 38th minute of the first half to take over.
Lee Kang-in was also different. He assisted Hwang Hee-chan (Wolverhampton)'s goal three minutes after he was put in. However, pain was waiting. Lee Kang-in collapsed in the 35th minute of the second half, holding his left foot neck. Oman's attack continued through the chaotic situation, and Ali al-Busaidi scored the equalizer. Lee Kang-in left the ground on the back of the medical staff.
There was no reversal. No more goals were scored. Lee was helped to his lodging facility on crutches. He was feared to be a serious injury. The result of thorough examination was revealed on Monday. It was not a serious injury. However, he was not allowed to play in the match against Jordan. Paik has a left hamstring injury and Jeong has a left calf muscle injury.
South Korea will play its eighth Group B match against Jordan in the third Asian qualifying round for the 2026 North-China World Cup at Suwon World Cup Stadium at 8 p.m. on Saturday. South Korea can confirm its advance to the World Cup finals at an early stage only when it wins unconditionally.
The Taegeuk Warriors, who were given a "short vacation" after the match against Oman, were summoned on the day. They had an hour-long recovery training session at Yongin Mir Stadium. "Baek Seung-ho and Lee Kang-in had injuries before the match against Oman, and Jung Seung-hyun had been out because of some injuries before that. After the match, I thought Lee would be very serious. However, the results of yesterday's test were not as bad as I thought."
"First of all, before I came out here, I talked to him face to face. I have thoroughly checked his attitude, attitude and mindset to play for the national team today. From our standpoint, however, he is also important to our team but also very important to our team, so we decided to cancel the call-up including Baek Seung-ho and Jung Seung-hyun. Now, we plan to prepare for the Jordanian game without the three players," he said. Hong has decided not to appoint a replacement for the three players.
However, they will not return to their teams immediately. "All three players were diagnosed to need two weeks at the most to recover," a source from the Korean team said. "Since treatment is better in Korea, we have decided to do so separately and join our team." 안전놀이터
Hwang In-beom (Feyenoord), the "commander of the Central Command," will return to the team. Hong saved Hwang in the match against Oman. Hwang, who just recovered from his injury, is not fully recovered from his calf muscle condition. He also suffered a bruise on his foot in the match against Tvente right before joining the team. However, he is still not in 100 percent condition.