The World Cup is also dangerous' Jungwon 'without Hwang In-beom' to be considered after leaving the team with injuries every time the list is announced

*This content was translated by AI.

Hwang In-beom (30, Feyenoord) collapsed again. It's already the third time this season. Coincidentally, all three injuries overlapped with each time the Korean national soccer team was called up. At this point, it is time for the 2026 FIFA 2026 FIFA North and Central America World Cup to also consider the 'Plan B' midfield without Hwang In-beom.

Hwang In-beom started the Dutch professional football Eredivisie home game against Excelsior on the 16th (Korea Standard Time), but collapsed after stepping on the back of his right foot from his opponent in the 40th minute of the first half. Eventually, he was helped by the medical staff and replaced. On the afternoon of the news in Korea, coach Hong Myung-bo held a press conference and announced the list of the national soccer team's warm-up matches against Ivory Coast and Austria.

Coach Hong Myung-bo maintained Hwang In-beom's selection for the national team. While he was initially included in the national team's list, he believes he will watch the situation as the news of the injury was reported earlier in the day. Instead, he set up a national team list of 27 players, one more than 26, in preparation for Hwang In-beom's possible departure. Coach Hong Myung-bo said, "I heard about Hwang In-beom's injury this morning. We still have to wait for the results. The reason for choosing 27 people is that they are waiting for the results of Hwang In-beom's test," he explained.

If Hwang In-beom's injury exclusion is finally confirmed, it will be the third time that he has been excluded from the national team since September last year. Hong Myung-bo Team entered the World Cup preparation mode in earnest after passing the third qualifying round of the World Cup in June last year, and this is the fourth call-up in total except for the East Asian Football Federation (EAFF) E-1 Football Championship (East Asian Cup). Of these, he was knocked out three times due to injuries.

Earlier in September last year, Hwang In-beom was out due to a calf injury ahead of the U.S.-Mexico match. He then suffered injuries to his left thigh muscle and this time to his foot ahead of the warm-up match in November. In October last year, the match between Brazil and Paraguay, which was the only time since the World Cup qualifying round, was also limited to 45 minutes and 66 minutes, respectively, due to their poor physical condition.

The plan is also being twisted from the perspective of Hong Myung-bo, who should prepare for the World Cup finals, centering on Hwang In-beom, the core of the midfield. The much-anticipated chemistry between Jens Kastrov (Mönchengladbach) and Hwang In-beom has not even been tested properly. On top of that, if even the warm-up match in March is excluded from the call-up, head coach Hong Myung-bo is in a situation where he has to put the midfield combination without Hwang In-beom to the test "once again."

Based on the transfer mark, Hwang In-beom was not injured at all in the 2022-2023 season, and he was injured only once in the 2023-2024 season, but the number of injuries is increasing rapidly, three times last season and three times this season. With this trend, it is not certain whether Hwang In-beom will be able to play 2026 FIFA North and Central America World Cup in normal condition.

As head coach Hong Myung-bo, he also has to think about a "no Hwang In-beom" midfield plan. Coach Hong put Baek Seung-ho (Birmingham City), Kim Jin-kyu (Jeonbuk Hyundai), Park Yong-woo (Al-Ain), and Castro in September last year, when Hwang In-beom was not called up, and Won Doo-jae (Corpacan), Kim Jin-kyu, Kwon Hyuk-kyu (Carlsruhe) and Castro in the midfield in November, respectively. Among them, Won Doo-jae and Park Yong-woo were out of the line early due to injuries.

Kim Jin-kyu, Baek Seung-ho, and Kwon Hyuk-kyu were newly added to the midfield resources of the call-up list. Park Jin-seop (Soojung FC) can also play defensive midfielder, and although he was classified as a defender this time, Castrov is also a candidate for the midfield. Coach Hong Myung-bo said, "The biggest concern right now is the central midfielder," adding, "Park Jin-seop is better because he is in charge of a double volante in his team. We also need to experiment with Kwon Hyuk-kyu's defense," he said.

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*This content was translated by AI.