"MVP". Excluding Hong Myung Boho... Hong Myung-bo Team K Leaguer Field Players 'Only 2'

*This content was translated by AI.

Lee Dong-kyung (29, Ulsan HD), the MVP of the K-League 1 last season, was excluded from the list of the Korean national soccer team.

Lee Dong-kyung was not listed on the list of the Korean national soccer team's March warm-up match against Ivory Coast and Austria announced on the 16th.

Lee Dong-kyung's failure to make the national soccer team list is the second consecutive time (based on the call-up of the national team) following the Bolivia and Ghana games in November last year when he was out due to injury. If it is not for unavoidable reasons such as injuries, it will be the first time since June last year.

Lee Dong-kyung has been called by head coach Hong Myung-bo relatively steadily since returning to the national team in a year through the first convocation list in September 2024, when head coach Hong Myung-bo took the helm of the national team.

Since the launch of the Hong Myung-bo Team, he has held the national flag six times out of eight convocations until October last year.

In particular, Lee Dong-kyung was honored as K League 1 MVP last season with 13 goals and 11 assists and 1 assist after returning to Ulsan as a member of Gimcheon Sangmu.

Following the match against China at the East Asian Football Federation (EAFF) E-1 Football Championship (East Asian Cup) in July last year, he seemed to continue his dream of becoming a 2026 FIFA North and Central America World Cup by scoring goals in A matches such as away goals in the U.S. in September.

Again this season, Lee Dong-kyung played in the opening two games and scored one goal and one assist to lead Ulsan alone. In the match against Gangwon FC in the opening match on the 28th of last month, he assisted Lee Hee-kyun's net goal, and in the match against Bucheon FC on the eve of the announcement of the national team's list, he succeeded in a penalty kick that he himself won and became the winner of the come-from-behind winning goal.

As Lee Dong-kyung was injured during the last A-match call-up last year, he increased the possibility of re-collecting the national team for the first time in five months, but coach Hong Myung-bo's choice was "excluding the national team."

Coach Hong Myung-bo chose Um Ji-sung (Swansea City), Bae Joon-ho (Stoke City), Yang Hyun-joon (Celtic), and Hong Hyun-seok (Hent) in addition to key players such as Hwang Hee-chan (Wolverhampton), Lee Jae-sung (Mainz 05) and Lee Kang-in (Paris Saint-Germain) as second-line resources.

In particular, Yang Hyun-joon re-branded the national flag for the first time in nine months since June last year and Hong Hyun-seok for the first time in a year and four months since November 2024, and Lee Dong-kyung's position disappeared in the process.

In addition to Lee Dong-kyung, other K-leaguers such as Seo Min-woo (Gangwon FC) and Lee Myung-jae (Daejeon Hana Citizen, injury), who were replaced in November last year, were also excluded from the national team list.

Only four K Leaguers are included in the national team's list: Cho Hyun-woo (Ulsan), Song Bum-keun, Kim Jin-kyu (Jeonbuk Hyundai), and Kim Moon-hwan (Daejeon), while only two field players are Kim Jin-kyu and Kim Moon-hwan.

Coach Hong Myung-bo said, "Lee Dong-kyung and Seo Min-woo are exactly familiar players. Rather than a personal problem, he did not select according to the team structure, he explained, "Lee Myung-jae was also injured."

The national team's roster is a significant change in that it is actually the last mock test before the 2026 FIFA 2026 FIFA North and Central America World Cup.

Hong Myung-bo Team is likely to head straight to Mexico, the final entry of the World Cup, after announcing its final entry in May, and in the end, the change in the final entry of the World Cup is not likely to be significant compared to this list.

However, K-League players can expect a dramatic turnaround depending on how steep they continue to play in the K-League before the final entry of the World Cup is announced.

Coach Hong Myung-bo said, "It is difficult to say that the final selection list has been completed at this point. Position competitiveness is the most important," he said. "I want to pick the best player in May and go to the World Cup. If you show good performance, anyone can come back into the national team," he said.

Hong Myung-bo Team will depart for the UK via Incheon International Airport on the 23rd and face the Ivory Coast at Stadium MK in Milton Keynes, England, at 11 p.m. on the 28th and Austria at 3:45 a.m. on April 1 at Ernst Havel Stadion in Vienna, Austria.

- GK: Kim Seung-gyu (FC Tokyo), Cho Hyun-woo (Ulsan HD), Song Bum-keun (Jeonbuk)

- DF: Kim Min-jae (Bayern Munich), Cho Yoo-min (Sharjah FC), Kim Tae-hyun (Kashima Antlers), Lee Tae-seok (Austriabin), Seol Young-woo (Trvenazvezda), Jens Kastrov (Borussia Mönchengladbach), Kim Joo-sung (Sanfrecce Hiroshima), Lee Han-beom (Mit Willan), Kim Moon-hwan (Daejeon Hana Citizen)

- MF: Lee Kang-in (Paris Saint-Germain), Yang Hyun-joon (Celtic), Baek Seung-ho (Birmingham City), Park Jin-seop (Joji FC), Hwang In-beom (Feyenoord), Hong Hyun-suk (KAAhent), Kim Jin-kyu (Jeonbuk Hyundai), Kwon Hyuk-kyu (Carlsruhe), Bae Jun-ho (Stoke City), Um Ji-sung (Swansea City), Lee Jae-sung (Mainz), Hwang Hee-chan (Wolverhampton Wanderers)

- FW: Son Heung-min (Los Angeles FC), Oh Hyun-kyu (Besiktashi), Cho Kyu-sung (Mit Willan)

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*This content was translated by AI.