Enlarge Image

▲ Korean players rejoicing at Cho Kyu-sung's equalizer against Ghana


At the 2022 World Cup in Qatar, while the main players of the Korean national soccer team displayed their fighting spirit and promoted at every juncture, there were also Taegeuk warriors who silently kept their seats and did their part.



These are six players, including Song Min-gyu, Kim Tae-hwan, Yoon Jong-gyu, Jo Hyun-woo, Song Bum-keun, and Oh Hyun-kyu, who did not make it to the final list of 26 players, but also boarded a plane to Qatar as a reserve player.



Yoon Jong-gyu and Kim Tae-hwan, who entered Qatar as right-sided defenders, kept the bench for the performance of Kim Moon-hwan, who started in the match against Brazil following the last three group stage matches.



Multiplayer Song Min-gyu, who plays all positions in the offense, did not get a chance to play among competitors who had a similar play style, such as Son Heung-min and Cho Kyu-seong.



As for the goalkeeper position, as in the 2019 UAE Asian Cup, the first major tournament led by Bento, Kim Seung-gyu completed the run alone, and Cho Hyun-woo and Song Bum-geun also remained as 'hidden protagonists' in this World Cup.



In addition, Oh Hyun-gyu, who was selected as a resource to replace Son Heung-min, who underwent an orbital fracture surgery before the World Cup, completed his first World Cup experience as a reserve resource by playing full-time in all four games.



Enlarge Image


Although they couldn't step on the grass, they were the 'one team' who shared the joy of victory and the regret of defeat.



He continued tactical training with his teammates until the end and contributed to improving the national team's performance through internal competition.



Shortly, from Doha, Qatar on the 14th of last month, or as long as they were summoned to Paju NFC at the end of last October, and the strong presence of those who sweated together at the training ground became a driving force for the main players to pour everything on the field.



In particular, the scene where the players on the bench jumped out first at the time of Cho Kyu-seong's equalizer against Ghana and Hwang Hee-chan's come-from-behind goal against Portugal showed that 'all players are looking at one goal as a team'.



In response, after the match against Brazil, Son Heung-min, the captain of the national team, said, "I was impressed by the hard work of both players who played and those who did not play," and said, "I would like to take this opportunity to say thank you to the players."



(Photo = Yonhap News)