Roberto Moreno, interim head coach of the South Korea national football team, speaks at a press conference Thursday at Korea Football Park in Cheonan, South Chungcheong Province, to announce the squad for the November friendly matches in the Middle East. [Yonhap]
Roberto Moreno, interim head coach of the South Korea national football team, speaks at a press conference Thursday at Korea Football Park in Cheonan, South Chungcheong Province, to announce the squad for the November friendly matches in the Middle East. [Yonhap]

Roberto Moreno, interim head coach of the South Korea national football team, has called up Son Heung-min of LAFC along with the three 1996-born players — Kim Min-jae of Bayern Munich, Hwang In-beom of Porto and Hwang Hee-chan of Schalke — who had been rumored to be considering international retirement, for the November A-match friendly tour.

Moreno held a press conference Thursday afternoon at Korea Football Park in Cheonan to announce a 26-man squad for back-to-back friendlies against Saudi Arabia on Nov. 13 and Qatar on Nov. 17, both to be played in Doha.

After the October A-match window closed, reports emerged of internal discord within the squad. Allegations surfaced that some players were dissatisfied with Son's leadership, and speculation grew that the 1996-born players might retire from international duty.

Despite the controversy, Moreno opted to recall all of the team's core players, maintaining continuity in the squad.

"I cannot speak about private conversations with players. But we met face to face, the players talked among themselves, and we resolved it. Communication has been at the heart of everything since the first call-up," Moreno said. "Every team has different opinions. What matters is how you resolve them. Ultimately, the shared goal is to build a winning team."

Moreno added: "Son Heung-min is the captain. There is nothing more to say."

The squad is four players smaller than the 30-man group named in September and October, and includes two uncapped players making their first call-ups. Defender Shin Min-ha of Gangwon FC and midfielder Son Jeong-beom of FC Seoul earned their first senior international selections.

Defender Kim Ji-su of Brentford and midfielder Eom Ji-sung of Swansea City, both of whom impressed at the Aichi-Nagoya Asian Games, returned to the senior squad, as did Shin, who contributed to the gold medal with a solid defensive display. Fullback Lee Myeong-jae of Daejeon Hana Citizen and midfielder Jung Woo-young of Union Berlin also rejoined the squad.

Ten players from the previous squad were dropped. Goalkeeper Gu Seong-yun of FC Seoul was left out, along with defenders Jo Wi-je, Kim Tae-hyun of Jeonbuk Hyundai, Kim Tae-hyun of Kashima Antlers, Lee Gi-hyeok of Gangwon FC, Lee Tae-seok of Austria Vienna and Kim Keon Hee of Incheon United. Midfielders Baek Seung-ho of Birmingham City, Kim Jin-gyu of Jeonbuk Hyundai, Jeong Seung-won of FC Seoul and Kim Min-su of Rangers, as well as forward Cho Gue-sung of Midtjylland, were also omitted.

After concluding the press conference Thursday, Moreno is set to depart for Barcelona, Spain, later that night. The squad is scheduled to assemble at the airport on Nov. 8 before flying out to the match venues.


min3654@heraldcorp.com