On June 30th, the Korean Football Association (KFA) officially unveiled the 18-player National Olympic Team lineup for the Tokyo Olympics through official channels. In the list, Kim Min-Ja, a player from Chinese Super League rival Beijing Guoan, attracted a lot of attention as the only overage player. Meanwhile, Kwon Chang-hoon of South Korea's Suwon Samsung and Bordeaux's Hwang Yi-suk of Ligue 1 are also among the overage players, and Kim's absence will have a significant impact on the Chinese Super League.
Led by South Korea's national Olympic team boss Kim Hak-bum, the team played a warm-up match against Ghana's national Olympic team in Jeju Island and finalized an 18-member squad after a selection process. The 25-year-old center back, from Beijing Guoan, managed to make the cut with his outstanding performance. It is worth mentioning that Kim Min Jae had returned home early due to a family matter after the first five rounds of the first phase of the Chinese Super League, and this time he will miss the remaining nine rounds of the league and five byes when he is selected for the national Olympic team.
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)
What kind of challenges will this national Olympic team face in the coming matches? Let's wait and see.
