It’s been nearly a year since our 2025-26 season preview, and with June on the horizon let’s take a look into which Korean footballers are in form and looking like they could play a pivotal role in our campaign this WC. We will divide this into those in top form, those in good form, and those in a slightly concerning situation. This is by no means comprehensive and the men who are playing regularly but where things are stable without any major recent developments will not be mentioned for the purposes of this post (e.g. Lee Jae Sung or Seol Young Woo who have consistently been performing well for their respective clubs).
Top Form: the most in form Korean footballers at the moment seem to be Oh Hyeon Gyu and Jens Castrop
Oh Hyeon Gyu – I was initially a bit disappointed when news broke that Oh Hyeon Gyu would move to Besiktas as opposed to Stuttgart (reportedly failed a medical due to a prior knee injury) or Fulham. But man was I pleasantly surprised when he proceeded to score 3 games in a row; now he is 5 goals in 8 games and the goals he has scored have been exceptional ones. This guy really can produce a goal out of nowhere, and his resurgence is reigniting what seemed like a settled debate: should we play Son Heung Min as a left wing forward or up top? Do we drop an insanely in form player in Oh in favor of keeping Son up top? A lot of things can change before the World Cup but Oh’s resurgence will present a very welcome headache to Hong Myung Bo. It’s actually very poetic as Oh was the backup squad member, without a jersey number, in 2022, but will now potentially lead the charge 4 years later.
Jens Castrop – another VERY welcome development has come out of Mönchengladbach, Germany in the form of Jens Castrop. There was always the question whether Jens should be RWB or a CM/DM but now the debate seems to have been settled: he will play LWB. He was used in all sorts of positions for Mönchengladbach, a team battling relegation, but since Jens moved to LWB in late February, the team is 2 wins, 1 draw, and 1 loss to Bayern Munich (and even in that loss he played really well). Coincidence perhaps, but Jens is playing damn well in that position, to the point where the team’s tactics almost revolve around him – don’t believe me? Watch the buildups leading up to his brace against Koln; the second goal was Son Heung Min-esque. For those hoping to see Jens in action this international break, a bit of bad news: he was subbed out that Koln game due to injury, and HMB says it is unclear whether he’ll be fit vs Ivory Coast at least.
Good Form:
Lee Han Beom and Cho Gue Sung – playing well and regularly for Midtjylland this season. Last season Cho had been injured for over a year, and Lee Han Beom was on and off the bench, but this season they have better established themselves this season for a team that had been doing very well in the Europa League until their unfortunate exit due to some God-awful penalties against Nottingham Forest. Lee Han Beom’s resurgence is especially welcome as we really need that RCB and LHB is looking like one of the frontrunners to partner Kim Min Jae. Cho’s physicality and aerial presence will also be very welcome on the team as he looks to repeat his brace from the last World Cup.
Yang Hyun Jun – has had quite the resurgence since the managerial change and switching from RWB to RW (although he stated himself he prefers RWB to RW). Between Moon Seon Min and Jeong Sang Bin, he seems to have won the competition – for now.
Kim Min Jae – many of you will be wondering “why the heck is KMJ in the “Good Form” section when he isn’t playing regularly for Bayern but he actually started the last two games and looks as sharp as ever. Also, an out of form KMJ is still the best defender we have. The question right now is whether he should play LCB or sweeper (middle CB?) for the KNT in a 3 back system. More on that in a post later today.
Then there are the guys regularly playing for their clubs in very stable situations: think Lee Jae Sung, Seol Young Woo, Bae Jun Ho, Lee Tae Seok, etc.
Lee Kang In – I’m putting our ace in his own slot here because his situation has been a bit controversial. On one hand he plays for the reigning European champions surrounded by the Ballon d’Or winner, two of the best CMs in the world in Vitinha and Joao Neves, two of the best fullbacks in the world (if not the best) in Nuno Mendes and Hakimi, and honorary Korean Khvicha Kvaratskhelia (who was teammates with a Korean at every step of his professional career from Rubin Kazan and Hwang In Beom to Napoli and Kim Min Jae and now PSG). On the other hand, he is not the type of player Luis Enrique tends to favor (fast, mobile guys). Luis Enrique does not see him as a starter and uses him as a first off the bench option in important games. He almost exclusively starts in Ligue One, and while he has been very effective off the bench as he is a very different player profile to everyone else in the squad, he just cannot start no matter how well he does. The debate here is as old as time – is it better to be a Son Heung Min who had a pivotal role for his club, or is it better to be a Park Ji Sung who was a rotational player for the biggest club (at the time)? I don’t know the answer to that, and I honestly don’t have an opinion on this situation. Lee himself knows best, and I trust that he will advocate for what’s best for him whether that’s an extension at PSG or transferring to Atletico Madrid. Atletico reportedly has been earnestly chasing Lee’s signature for a long time now. with Matieu Alemany (the guy who gave LKI his debut at Valencia now the sporting director at Atletico), Diego Simeone, and club president Enrique Cerezo reportedly all agreeing that LKI is their #1 transfer target especially after Griezmann’s departure. After Griezmann transfers to Orlando in July, they will have 0 left footed playmakers on the team, and I do think Lee can establish himself better there than at PSG. But what do I know I’m just a doctor in California who does this for fun.
Also, LKI was subbed off due to injury (from a bad slide tackle on him that led to a straight leg) but it seems the injury is not severe and there is a chance he will appear vs Austria, if not both matches.
Slightly Concerning?
Son Heung Min – this is the big concern for me. In an earlier post reflecting on Son’s move to LAFC, I expressed some concern about the possibility of loss of form. And this season my worst fears might be coming true. Despite a fantastic start to life in the MLS last season, something seems to have happened during the break because in the recent LAFC matches, Son has looked uncharacteristically sluggish. 9 games in, all he has is one penalty goal the first game of the season (as well as a few assists). Not sure what’s going on (maybe it was Koreatown galbi), but all we can do is hope that he works on his form before June.
Hwang Hee Chan – we really don’t have a replacement for Hwang. He is unique on this team and we will really need him not injured in June. He has fortunately regained some form since the turn of the new year, but he keeps getting injured in typical HHC fashion.
Hwang In Beom and Paik Seung Ho – another case of the injuries. Hwang has spent a good chunk of the season injured and when he came back last month he got re-injured. Paik has a recurring shoulder injury that reportedly needs surgery but he is putting it off in order to be healthy for the World Cup.
Cho Yu Min – one of our better defenders and pretty much a lock to make the squad, but he plays in the Middle East and his league has been called off due to geopolitical conflict. It would be very bad if he straight up doesn’t play competitive football until June.
Regarding Sonny, people have to remember he has played about 650 caps for club/country, where a significant aspect of his game is based on speed/athleticism. Most footballers who are human, if they reach 500 professional caps, start to notably decline physically pass that point. There are some exceptional super humans like Cristiano, Messi and guys like James Milner and several others who are aliens from outer space, but the load Sonny has carried physically is still absurdly high. I think he’s on borrowed time for lasting past his due date mileage wise, and he also went to a league that has a much larger travel/flying demand on your body in MLS, I feel it wasn’t the greatest career move in that regard. I think it’s surreal he hasn’t had notable durations of being on the mend or has faced any real significant time being injured like ever. But for him father time might have finally arrived. Nobody should be surprised. Sonny is human after all. And he was a pleasure to watch in his prime playing at the very highest levels in the Prem and sometimes during CL. I’ve been a sports guy all my life and in general, what tugs at the heartstrings across fan bases and nations and cultures is, if you make the big moments and big plays in the big games under the brightest lights. And Sonny did that when the whole world was watching.