Of the strikers called up, Oh Hyun-gyu (KRC Henk) has been in the best form of late.
With Min Ji-kyu and Oh Oh-hoon failing to impress for their respective clubs ahead of their call-ups, there are hopes that Oh could emerge as a new option up front for Hong Myung-baek.The South Korean national soccer team, led by Hong Myung-bo, will face Jordan at the Amman International Stadium in Amman, Jordan, on Tuesday (June 10) in the third Group B match of the FIFA Confederations Cup North America 2026 (co-hosted by Canada, the United States and Mexico) Asian 사설 토토사이트 qualifying tournament.
While Son Heung-min’s absence is the biggest topic of discussion for Hong Myung-baek right now, there’s a lot more to worry about. One of the main concerns is which of the second-stringers will fill Son’s shoes and which players will be chosen to partner Kim Min-jae and Hwang In-beom in the absence of two veterans in Kim Young-kwon and Jung Woo-young (Ulsan HD).
Another area of concern is the frontline forward position. Cho Kyu-sung, who has been anchoring the national team’s front line for a while now, has yet to play due to an infection while recovering from injury, so Hong Myung-bo called up Lee Min-kyu and Oh Se-hoon in last month’s call-up.
First called up to the national team by former coach Paulo Bento in 2022, the former Suwon Samsung player was touted as a forward to lead the frontline of the next Korean national team, with Oh traveling to the 2022 World Cup in Qatar as the ’27th man’. He then moved to Celtic FC (Scotland), where he scored 12 goals in 47 games, but hasn’t played for the Taegeuks since the 2023 Asian Cup.
In the meantime, Oh left Celtic to join Belgian league powerhouse Genk, a club that has produced a number of star players. In July, Feyenoord paid a transfer fee of up to 3.9 million euros (approximately $5.7 billion) to sign Oh, with high expectations.
After making his debut against Stade Liege in July, Oh was officially named as a substitute in the team’s match against Schalke Brugge on March 14. He came off the bench to score his debut goal against FCV Dendere on the 22nd, and then played 30 minutes against Mechelen on the 28th, scoring the equalizer and a late winner to lead his team to victory.
After a quiet and unsuccessful spell at Celtic, Oh is back on the wing. It was no surprise that he caught the eye of coach Hong Myung-bo.
Oh could be a new option up front for Hong Myung-baek, who still don’t have a clear-cut “number one”. He was born in 2001 and is 23 years old, so if he can keep his form up, he could be in the front line for the 2026 World Cup in North and Central America and beyond.
The key is his current fitness. He’s been a substitute at Celtic and now at Henk, so it’s likely that he’s not fit enough to play full-time. That’s why it’s hard for him to break through the likes of In-Jin Gyu and Oh Se-hoon to get a starting spot against Jordan.
Still, there are high hopes for Oh as he could be Hong Myung-bok’s ‘joker card’. He’s really started to pick up his game since joining Hengk, and if he can continue that trend in this squad, he’ll be able to put a smile on his face and Hong’s face.