The Korea Football Association (KFA) on Saturday announced the 24-man roster for the Olympic team’s upcoming trial against France. The Olympic team, led by Hwang, will depart for France on Sept. 13. On the 17th, the team will play a pair of matches against local professional teams in Le Havre before facing the France U-21 team led by Thierry Henry on the 20th.레모나토토

The key to the call-up was whether overseas players would be selected. Hwang minimized that. Three overseas players were included in the roster: defender Kim Ji-soo (Brentford), midfielder Kwon Hyuk-kyu (Celtic), and forward Jung Sang-bin (Minnesota). One player was selected for each position. Kwon and Sang-bin were key contributors at the Asian Football Confederation (AFC) U-23 Asian Cup qualifiers in September.

Not included in the roster were Lee Han-beom (Mittwilan), Lee Hyun-joo (Werder Bremen), Bae Jun-ho (Stoke City) and Park Kyu-hyun (Dresden), who were born in 2001 and 2002 and are eligible for the Olympic team. However, they were excluded.

“We were worried about calling up overseas players, but there is some uncertainty about whether we can call up overseas players for the AFC U-23 Asian Cup, which is the final qualifier for the Paris Olympics next April. We selected mainly K League players.” The Asian Cup is not a FIFA-organized tournament and is not mandatory. The permission of the club is an important factor. Hwang plans to minimize these variables to maximize the overall organization.

The Olympic team will compete in the 2024 Asian Football Confederation (AFC) U-23 Asian Cup in Qatar next April as the final Asian qualifier for the Paris 2024 Olympic Games. Competitors Japan, Qatar and Uzbekistan have switched to the Olympic format early to begin preparations. “During this call-up period, we will play an exhibition match against France, a strong team, and adapt to the local conditions to fully understand the strengths and weaknesses of the team and prepare for the final qualification and the Olympic Games,” said Huang.

Meanwhile, four members of the 2022 Hangzhou Asian Games gold medal team have been called back to the squad, including Ko Young-joon (Pohang Steelers), Hwang Jae-won (Daegu FC), Ahn Jae-joon (Bucheon FC) and Kim Jung-hoon (Jeonbuk Hyundai), who are all playing in the K League. Kim Sun-ho (Bucheon FC) and Lee Kang-hee (Gyeongnam FC) made their first appearances under Hwang.