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| Tottenham Hotspur's Harry Kane and Son Heung-min, center, react after the match against Southampton at St. Mary's Stadium in Southampton, Britain on March 9. Reuters-Yonhap |
By John Duerden
South Korea plays its first home game of 2019 this Friday in the southeastern city of Ulsan as Bolivia provide the opposition. It is also the first game since the relative disappointment of the Asian Cup in January when the Taegeuk Warriors looked limp and sluggish for much of the tournament before exiting at the quarterfinal stage with a defeat at the hands of eventual champion Qatar.
Coach Paulo Bento came into the job last August and provided some fine performances, especially against South American opposition, in the build up to January but the Portuguese now realizes that there is much work to do in the coming months and years.
The next big event on the horizon, though it is very far on the horizon, is the 2022 World Cup. In Asia, qualification for that will start in June though Korea will not be involved until September. It is clear that Bento is looking towards that competition, it is his job after all, as he will take a look at some young players who are already playing in Europe.
Lee Kang-in has just turned 18 but is already on the fringes of the first team of Valencia in Spain. There are high hopes of this attacking midfielder who, famously, has a buy-out clause in his contract that is close to $100 million. Bento will get a chance to see the youngster in training over the next few days to see what kind of player and person Lee is. He should also get some minutes on the field in either Ulsan or back in Seoul four days later. Then there is Paik Seung-ho, a 22-year-old midfielder who plays for Girona, also in Spain.
Of course most of the attention will be on star player Son Heung-min. The Tottenham Hotspur forward has been busy in the English Premier League and UEFA Champions League but will be heading east to face the South Americans. Son was not at his best during the Asian Cup and there are still concerns on how to get the best out of the player when he pulls on the famous red shirt of his homeland. Bento admitted last week that he had been carefully considering the situation and it will be interesting to see in what position Son appears.
There will be some notable absences. Ki Sung-yueng has made over 10 appearances for the national team but won't be making the long flight east from the English Premier League. Ki was going to retire after the 2018 World Cup but was persuaded to stay on for the Asian Cup. That tournament showed the challenges for Korean players in Europe. While Ki was in United Arab Emirates in January, his replacement back at Newcastle United was impressing ― so much so that when Ki returned to England and recovered from injury, he had lost his place in Newcastle.
Ki will be missed but now is the time for some young talent to stake their claim ahead for the next few years.
