Tottenham Hotspur’s Son Heung-min yesterday was named in South Korea’s Asian Cup squad and coach Jurgen Klinsmann said it was “about time” they ended their 64-year continental title drought.
Wolverhampton Wanderers forward Hwang Hee-chan was also among Klinsmann’s 26-man selection for the tournament, which is to start in Qatar on Jan. 12.
Son is to captain a squad that includes Bayern Munich defender Kim Min-jae and 22-year-old Paris Saint-Germain attacking midfielder Lee Kang-in.
Photo: AFP
South Korea have not won the Asian Cup since 1960.
“It’s all about timing now and I think we are ready for this big, big competition,” Klinsmann said. “It’s 64 years — 64 years is a long time for [South] Korea. It’s about time that we get this done.”
South Korea have been drawn in Group E and face Malaysia, Jordan and Bahrain in the group stage.
They lost 1-0 to eventual champions Qatar in the quarter-finals of the 2019 Asian Cup in the United Arab Emirates.
Klinsmann, a FIFA World Cup winner with Germany in 1990, will have one of the strongest squads in the tournament in Qatar and he said he could “see it in their eyes that they are hungry for it.”
“I have a good feeling because they’re doing well at their clubs,” he said. “They’re healthy, they’re fit, they’re ambitious and they’re very hungry. This is the foundation for playing a good tournament.”
“We have a lot of different pieces in that roster and that makes us one of the favorites for the Asian Cup,” he said. “We have to fine-tune these elements over the next couple of weeks and then go into the tournament with confidence.”
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