The Taegeuk Warriors are Back: November Internationals
Originally published on FightingStripes.com on Nov. 11, 2020. Written by Michael Welch.
For the first time since November 2019, Paulo Bento is getting to bring his full-strength squad together to take part in friendlies against Mexico and Qatar. Even more surprisingly, Lee Seungwoo returns to the U23 National Team to take part in friendlies against Egypt and Brazil. With all the biggest names in both squads, there's going to be a lot of fun football to watch over the next week. Let's analyze the squads, make some lineup choices, and then get our calendars set for a good weekend of football.
The Squads
Paulo Bento's squad is filled with all the European-based stars he couldn't call last month during the K League-only friendlies. So, that means Bento has the forward options of Son Heungmin, Lee Kangin, Hwang Heechan, and Hwang Uijo. In the midfield, Lee Jaesung, Kwon Changhoon, and Hwang Inbeom make their returns to the national team as well. The defense is where Bento has some issues, as he lost Hong Chul and Lee Yong to injury, Kim Jinsu to a positive COVID19 test, and Kim Minjae and Park Jisoo were not made available by their CSL clubs. Bento will have to get mighty creative to fit together all these pieces for a cohesive squad that can challenge Mexico, who we will all remember beat us 2-1 at the 2018 World Cup. However, there are certainly ways to create an exciting offensive lineup that can still defend well.
This simple 4-4-2 seems like one of the best ways to get the in-form players into the same squad at the positions where they can succeed. For example, seeing Lee Kangin's struggles to defend well at Valencia informed my decision to place him as the "false nine"/No. 10 role above a central midfield pivot of Inbeom and Son Junho. Son Junho is coming off a stellar season with Jeonbuk Hyundai where he continually proved that he's probably one of the best Korean CDMs around. I have Hwang Heechan backing up Kangin because his form and fitness have dipped since his move to Leipzig.
On the wings, it will be very interesting to see what Bento does. Lee Jaesung is simply too influential at Holstein Kiel to not make a starting role, but Kwon could really be given a real competition with Um Wonsang and Lee Dongjun again in the squad. I'm partial to Kwon's European pedigree but Um Wonsang especially was good for Gwangju FC's run to the top half of the K League table.
Defense was a bit tricky since Bento has 3 right backs and 1 left back. It's certainly possible that because of that imbalance, he could play a back 3 and deploy players like Lee Jaesung and Hwang Heechan as wingbacks. However, I don't really want to see that at all. So, let's just play Lee Juyong at LB and either Kim Taehwan or Yoon Jonggyu at RB, then continue the rise of Won Dujae at CB with veteran Kwon Kyungwon beside him. I think this squad can challenge Mexico and Qatar.
The U23 squad led by Kim Hakbum is no less exciting. They're preparing for the Tokyo 2021 Olympics and Hakbum has called an intriguing squad full of talent and in-form players. In attack, it's clear that Oh Sehun is his target man up top, but it's the midfield of my 4-2-3-1 where things get interesting. It's just full of talent at the moment and it was really hard to make the choices. However, here's what I went with. Paik Seungho will play as an advanced CAM ahead of Lee Soobin and Lee Seungmo, flanked by Lee Donggyeong and Song Minkyu. The crazy thing is that behind Song Minkyu I can think of 3 LW options that deserve a spot in the lineup. You can make a case for any of Lee Seungwoo, Kim Daewon, or Freiburg's Jeong Wooyeong deserving that spot. Behind Lee Donggyeong, Cho Youngwook is the type of all-action winger that you really need in this squad. Defense gets a little more interesting, but seeing Jeong Seungwon (Daegu FC) and Seol Youngwoo (Ulsan Hyundai) as fullback options is huge. In the case of Seol Youngwoo, he broke into the Ulsan Hyundai lineup and played as a fullback or winger, giving Hakbum a good versatile option in defense. Lee Jaeik and Kim Hyunwoo will look to rekindle their U20 World Cup magic at CB in front of Song Bumkeun. Ahn Joonsoo is an exciting choice, as J1 League watchers constantly rate him highly (UPDATE: replaced in the squad by Heo Jaung, Seongnam FC).
The Schedule
Here's the schedule for the next week:
U23 National Team vs. Egypt U23s, 1 PM EST/3 AM KST, Nov. 12 (Nov. 13 in Korea) - SBS Sports
U23 National Team vs. Brazil U23s, 8 AM EST/10 PM KST, Nov. 14 - SBS
Korea vs. Mexico, 3 PM EST/5 AM KST, Nov. 14 (Nov. 15 in Korea) - Univision, TUDN (US), TV Chosun
Korea vs. Qatar, 8 AM EST/10 PM KST, Nov. 17 - SBS
Let me know your thoughts on my lineup choices and which match you're most exciting to watch. This year has been tough and the COVID19 Pandemic still occupies our worries, but we do finally have our Taegeuk Warriors back for 4 matches in the next 6 days.