On June 30, the Korean Football Association (KFA) unveiled the 18-member national Olympic team list for the Tokyo Olympics through official channels. In the list, Kim Min Jae, a young player from Beijing Guoan of the Chinese Super League, has attracted a lot of attention from domestic fans. It is worth mentioning that Kim is one of the three overage players, the other two being Kwon Chang-hoon of South Korea's Suwon Samsung and Hwang Yi-suk of Ligue 1's Bordeaux. The change signals that Kim will miss the remaining nine rounds of the Chinese Super League.
Recently, under the leadership of head coach Kim Hak-bum, the Korean National Olympic Team started two warm-up matches against the Ghanaian National Olympic Team in Jeju Island. After evaluating 30 players, Kim Hak-bum finalized an 18-player squad that meets the rules for participation in the Olympic soccer tournament. Beijing Guoan center back Kim Min Ja, 25, made the cut with his outstanding performance.
It is worth noting that Kim Min Ja returned to Korea early for family reasons after the first 5 rounds of the first phase of the league. Now, with the confirmation of his inclusion in the National Olympic Team roster, he will have to give up the opportunity to play in the remaining 9 rounds of the Super League as well as the 5th round bye.
Here is the full 18-man roster for the South Korean National Olympic team:
Goalkeepers: Song Beom-geun (Jeonbuk Hyundai), Ahn Jun-soo (Busan Idol)
Defenders: Min-Ja Kim (Beijing Guoan), Jin-Yeol Kim (Seoul FC), Yu-Hyun Lee (Jeonbuk Hyundai), Tae-Yu Jeong (Daegu FC), Jae-Woo Kim (Daegu FC), Young-Woo Seol (Ulsan Hyundai)
Forward: Lee Gang-in (Valencia), Kwon Chang-hoon (Suwon Samsung), Kim Dong-hyun (Gangwon FC), Jeong Seung-won (Daegu FC), Won Doo-jae (Ulsan Hyundai), Lee Dong-kyung (Ulsan Hyundai)
Forwards: Hwang Yi-suk (Bordeaux), Song Min-kyu (Pohang Steelers), Yim Won-sang (Gwangju FC), Lee Dong-jun (Ulsan Hyundai)
