Despite breaking his eye socket while playing for Tottenham earlier this month, Son Heung-Min has been named to South Korea‘s 26-man squad for the FIFA World Cup in Qatar. The 30-year-oldproclaimed himself fit to play for the Koreansand head coach Paulo Bento put him on his team.
Son, who had surgery to fix the issue, had previouslyindicated that he would be willing to use a face mask while playing in Qatar. Bento had said that the inclusion of Lee Kang-In, a playmaker for Mallorca, was not made so thatthe Premier League‘s joint-leading scorer from the previous season, could still play despite the injury.
Qatar 2022will host South Korea in their 11th World Cup appearance, which is also their 10th in a row. The Asian team will be aiming to go farther than the round of 16 for the first time since 2010 when they were ousted by Uruguay.
South Korea’s full list of players for Qatar 2022
Goalkeepers:Kim Seung-gyu (Al Shabab), Jo Hyeon-woo (Ulsan Hyundai), Song Bum-keun (Jeonbuk Motors).
Defenders:Kim Min-jae (Napoli), Kim Jin-su (Jeonbuk Motors), Hong Chul (Daegu FC), Kim Moon-hwan (Jeonbuk Motors), Yoon Jong-gyu (FC Seoul), Kim Young-gwon (Ulsan Hyundai), Kim Tae-hwan (Ulsan Hyundai), Kwon Kyung-won (Gamba Osaka), Cho Yu-min (Daejon Citizen).
Midfielders:Jung Woo-young (Al Sadd), Na Sang-ho (FC Seoul), Paik Seung-ho (Jeonbuk Motors), Son Jun-ho (Shandong Taishan), Song Min-kyu (Jeonbuk Motors), Kwon Chang-hoon (Gimcheon Sangmu), Son Heung-min (Tottenham Hotspur), Lee Jae-sung (Mainz), Hwang Hee-chan (Wolverhampton Wanderers), Hwang In-beom (Olympiacos), Jeong Woo-yeong (Freiburg), Lee Kang-in (Real Mallorca).
Forwards:Hwang Ui-jo (Olympiacos), Cho Gue-sung (Jeonbuk Motors) (Reporting by Michael Church in Hong Kong, Editing by Peter Rutherford).