'Again Excluded from Starting Lineup' Castrof, Even After Acquiring Korean Citizenship, Overlooked by Hong Myung-bo in Match Against South Africa

*This content was translated by AI.

Once again, Jens Castrof (23, Borussia Mönchengladbach) was not included in head coach Hong Myung-bo's plan for the South Korean national football team.

Castrof, the first foreign-born mixed-race player to represent the South Korean men's A national team, was excluded from the starting lineup for all three group stage matches of the 2026 FIFA World Cup in North America, Central America, and the Caribbean. On the 25th at 10 a.m. (Korean time), Castrof was left off the starting lineup for the Group A third match against South Africa at the Monterrey Stadium in Monterrey, Mexico, and was instead placed on the substitute bench.

As a result, Castrof was excluded from the starting lineup for three consecutive group stage matches, following the first and second matches against Czechia and Mexico. In fact, Castrof did not even enter the match as a substitute in either the Czechia or Mexico games, spending zero minutes on the field. Among the wing-back resources, Castrof is the only player who has been overlooked throughout the group stage. Notably, even players closer to the striker position than wing-backs, such as Eom Ji-sung (Swansea City) and Yang Hyun-jun (Celtic FC), have been utilized as wing-backs through substitutions.

Castrof, born in Düsseldorf, Germany, is a mixed-race player born to a Korean mother and a German father. After playing for the German Yeon Ryeong-byeol (CEO) team, he switched his affiliated association to the Korea Football Association ahead of this World Cup and received the Taeguk mark under head coach Hong Myung-bo in September last year. At that time, Castrof was noted as a central midfielder resource, but he failed to demonstrate significant competitiveness within the national team. However, after recently changing his position to wing-back at his club and continuing to perform well, he secured a spot in the final World Cup roster.

However, he has not received any opportunities on the World Cup stage. In the match against Czechia, Lee Tae-seok (Austria Wien) was deployed on the left flank, and in the subsequent match against Mexico, he was even left out of the lineup due to a positional shift of Seol Young-woo (Crvena Zvezda), who had mostly played as the right wing-back in most matches. Under head coach Hong Myung-bo's continued neglect, the main left wing-back at Borussia Mönchengladbach in the German Bundesliga has not played a single minute in the World Cup.

The final group stage match against South Africa drew significant attention regarding Castrof's possibility of starting. Although qualification for the Round of 32 was not yet confirmed, a draw would secure advancement to the Round of 32, and there was a clear objective gap in strength between South Korea and South Africa. Coupled with Seol Young-woo's disappointing performance on the left flank in the previous match against Mexico, there were strong voices calling for a change. Many experts also argued that Castrof should be deployed as the left wing-back.

However, head coach Hong Myung-bo once again overlooked Castrof. Lee Tae-seok was selected for the left flank, and Seol Young-woo for the right flank in the starting lineup for the match against South Africa. Lee Tae-seok was selected to start for the second time in the tournament's group stage, following the first match against Czechia, while Seol Young-woo started in all group stage matches. For Castrof, the only hope lies in the possibility of receiving a substitution opportunity depending on the flow of the game in this final group stage match, which is greater than in previous matches.

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*This content was translated by AI.