[Yonhap]
[Yonhap]

Football commentator Park Moon-sung has offered his analysis of why Lee Seung-woo has again been left off the South Korean national team squad, this time under new head coach Robert Moreno.

Moreno announced his first squad for the national team on Monday. Three players — Kim Keon Hee (23, Incheon United), Park Tae-jun (27, Gimcheon Sangmu) and Kim Min-su (20, Rangers) — earned their first senior international call-ups, while Lee Seung-woo was once again absent from the list.

Lee, 28, has been one of North Jeolla Province's key attacking players this K League 1 season, contributing eight goals and three assists for 11 attacking points. He has been in particularly strong form since the World Cup break, scoring five goals and adding two assists. Yet a return to the national team has again eluded him.

When asked at a press conference why Lee had been left out, Moreno declined to give a direct answer. "Today I will only speak about the players I have selected. I will not go through each player who was not selected," he said.

He added, "If I have something to tell a player, I will not do it publicly. I will say it to that player face to face."

Park analyzed the omission on his YouTube channel "Dalsune Live."

Park said competition for spots in the second line of attack is fierce, making it difficult for Lee to break through. "That position is hard to get into unless you are performing at a very high level. Son Heung-min (34, LAFC) can also drop into that role, so it is not an easy spot to claim," he said.

"It was the same at the last World Cup, and before that too. Honestly, he has not been called up much recently," Park said, adding that he was aware Lee had been putting up strong attacking numbers for North Jeolla Province this season.

Park then offered his interpretation of how national team coaches have tended to view Lee.

"The sense he shows when he comes on in the second half and disrupts the game — that part is fine," Park said. "But to compete at the international level, at the national team level, you need physicality and defensive ability."

"Looking at it a bit coldly, I think coaches have consistently seen him as lacking in those areas," he added. "People ask why he is not being picked, and I think that is the reason."

Park also analyzed the overall composition of the squad, saying it appeared to be built around players who featured at the North and Central America World Cup, with Moreno adding players suited to his style of play.

He suggested Moreno may be using this first call-up to assess the existing pool of national team players before reshaping the squad to better reflect his own footballing identity.

South Korea will face Ecuador at 8 p.m. on Sept. 24 at Suwon World Cup Stadium, then take on Uruguay at 8 p.m. on Sept. 28 at Seoul World Cup Stadium. The team will then meet Venezuela at 8 p.m. on Oct. 2 at Ulsan Munsu Football Stadium and Uzbekistan at 8 p.m. on Oct. 6 at Yongin Mir Stadium.


min3654@heraldcorp.com