Korea goes local for WC qualifier against Kuwait

South Korea has gone decidedly local for a crucial World Cup qualifying match against Kuwait this month, hoping players from the top domestic league can keep the country alive.

The team of 26, as announced by the Korea Football Association on Friday, features only three players from overseas ― forward Park Chu-young of Arsenal in England; midfielder Ki Sung-yueng from Scotland’s Celtic FC; and defensive back Lee Jung-soo of Al Sadd in Qatar. All other players are based in the domestic K-League.

South Korea is set to face Kuwait at home on Feb. 29 in their final third round match in the ongoing Asian qualification for the 2014 FIFA World Cup. Before that, Korea is hosting Uzbekistan in a tune-up friendly on Feb. 25.

South Korea has often filled about half of its rosters with players based in foreign leagues. Head coach Choi Kang-hee explained that he built a team of experienced players who can best help South Korea beat Kuwait.

“We’ve brought together players that can come through in the clutch, in one-and-done situations like this,” Choi said. “We wanted experience and veteran presence.”

These players are tasked with keeping alive South Korea’s hopes of making the World Cup. Despite leading Group B in the third and the penultimate round with 10 points, South Korea is in danger of elimination.

South Korea is tied with Lebanon in points but is ahead in the goal differential tiebreaker, plus-8 to minus-2. Kuwait is in third with eight points, well within reach of the top spot.

South Korea will be eliminated if it loses to Kuwait and if Lebanon defeats or draws the winless United Arab Emirates in their final group contests.

Since Lebanon is widely expected to beat the UAE, South Korea’s contest against Kuwait is essentially a must-win situation.

The top two nations from each of five groups will reach the fourth and the final qualification phase.

Choi recently traveled to Europe to see South Korean players there in person. Upon returning home earlier this week, Choi had hinted that the squad against Kuwait wouldn’t include too many players from overseas, since most of them have seen little action in their clubs.

Notable absentees are: Ji Dong-won, midfielder for Premier League club Sunderland; Koo Ja-cheol, midfielder for FC Augsburg in Germany’s Bundesliga; and fellow Bundesliga player Son Heung-min, winger for Hamburger SV.

Park Chu-young, forward for Arsenal, was a surprise addition to the team, given that he has yet to play a regular season contest for the Premier League side since joining the Gunners last summer. 

(Yonhap News)