Jo Gyu-seong (27, Midtjylland), who wore the Taegeuk mark for the first time in 18 months, will once again wear number 9.
The Korea Football Association on the 13th revealed the squad numbers for the 26 players called up for November A matches via its official social media. These are the numbers to be used in the match against Bolivia at Daejeon World Cup Stadium at 8 p.m. on the 14th and the match against Ghana at Seoul World Cup Stadium at 8 p.m. on the 18th.
There were no major changes overall. Captain Son Heung-min (Los Angeles FC) retains his iconic number 7. Kim Min-jae (Bayern Munich) is number 4, Lee Jae-sung (Mainz) is 10, Jo Hyeon-woo (Ulsan) is 21, and Hwang Hee-chan (Wolverhampton) is 11, so the core players' numbers have not changed.
Lee Kang-in (Paris Saint-Germain) will wear number 19 again and patrol the pitch. He changed from number 18, which he had used with the national team in the Brazil and Paraguay matches last month, to number 19 to match his club. Lee Kang-in, who said there was no special reason, will keep number 19 for the second consecutive month.
The most noticeable is Jo Gyu-seong's number 9. He, who rejoined the national team for the first time since March 2024, reclaimed the number 9 he used to wear.
Instead, Oh Hyun-gyu (Genk), who wore number 9 last month, changed to number 18. Oh Hyun-gyu also wears number 9 at his club but appears to have yielded it to the returning Jo Gyu-seong. Lee Dong-gyeong (Ulsan), who had been assigned number 18 last month, was ruled out due to injury.
Jens Castrop (Borussia Mönchengladbach) remains at number 23, which he has worn since his first call-up to the national team in September. Park Jin-seop is number 16, Kim Jin-kyu (both Jeonbuk) is 24, Eom Ji-sung (Swansea City) is 17, and Seol Young-woo (Red Star Belgrade) is 22, so most other players are the same as last month. Goalkeepers are unchanged as well, with Kim Seung-gyu (FC Tokyo) at number 1 and Song Beom-geun (Jeonbuk) at number 12.
The youngest, Yang Min-hyuk (Portsmouth), called up by coach Hong Myung-bo for the first time in a while, will wear number 27. Newly called-up Bae Jun-ho (Stoke City) will wear number 20, and Seo Min-woo (Gangwon) will wear number 8. Kwon Hyuk-gyu (Nantes), who dreams of making his A-match debut, was assigned number 25.
This two-match series is the last A-match schedule of the year. It is an important practical stage ahead of the 2026 FIFA World Cup in North and Central America, which opens in June next year. It is an opportunity to test competitiveness on the World Cup stage against Bolivia, who finished seventh in the South American World Cup qualifiers and reached the playoffs, and Ghana, a strong team that secured qualification from the African World Cup qualifiers early.
Above all, results are necessary. Managing FIFA ranking points is key to confirming World Cup pot 2. If Hong Myung-bo's team, currently ranked 22nd in the FIFA rankings, is upset by lower-ranked Bolivia (76th) and Ghana (73rd), the pot 2 spot could be jeopardized.
Coach Hong Myung-bo also emphasized at a press conference held on the 13th, "Results are most important. Also, we need to keep finding combinations over the remaining two matches. If one player is labeled as the perfect best resource, it could undermine other players' motivation. The broad framework is in place, but within that we must provide motivation and check the players' competitiveness up to just before the World Cup. These two matches are part of that process."
Jo Gyu-seong's participation is also drawing attention. After last season he developed complications from a blood infection during knee surgery and spent 15 months in rehabilitation. Now wearing the Taegeuk mark again, Jo Gyu-seong vowed, "I hope I can play even for a few minutes. I really want to take the field." Fortunately, Ghana is the opponent against whom he scored multiple goals at the 2022 Qatar World Cup, which could make for a good stage for his comeback.
[Photo] Korea Football Association.
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