Jens Castrop [Yonhap]
Jens Castrop [Yonhap]

Jens Castrop (22), who rarely got a chance to play under former head coach Hong Myung-bo, has emerged as an unexpected beneficiary of the 2026 North America World Cup.

German tabloid Bild turned its spotlight on the South Korean national team midfielder on Monday.

The outlet said Castrop's World Cup "fell short of expectations from a sporting standpoint," but called it "a great success" for the player nonetheless, adding that his social media following had "exploded."

Castrop made history as the first mixed-heritage player born abroad to wear the South Korean jersey at a World Cup finals. Born and raised in Germany, he represented Germany at youth level before choosing South Korea — the country of his roots — for the senior national team. He quickly integrated into Hong's squad and earned a spot on the final World Cup roster.

Playing time at the tournament, however, proved scarce. Castrop was named as a substitute for both the group-stage opener against the Czech Republic and the second match against Mexico, but never set foot on the pitch in either game. He finally made his World Cup debut in the third and final group-stage match against South Africa, coming on at the start of the second half.

After the tournament ended, Castrop took to social media to share his feelings — a mix of disappointment and resolve.

"It was a disappointing result and not the World Cup we had dreamed of, but it was a World Cup I will never forget," he wrote. "When I think about the effort, sacrifice and belief we put into this journey, I truly believe we deserved better."

"But sometimes, that's football," he added. "Thank you to everyone who supported us every step of the way. We will learn from this experience, come back stronger and keep fighting. This is only the beginning."

Before the World Cup kicked off, Castrop had around 49,000 followers on social media, ranking 10th among Borussia Mönchengladbach players. His following has since climbed to roughly 144,000 — third on the squad, behind Kevin Diks (about 1.9 million) and Giovanni Reyna (about 500,000).

That represents a gain of roughly 100,000 followers since the tournament began, with Korean fans appearing to account for a significant share of the new additions.

Bild noted that other Mönchengladbach players who took part in the World Cup also saw their followings grow, but said the increases were far smaller compared with Castrop's.


min3654@heraldcorp.com