On the 7th, Korean national team head coach Cho Kwang-rae announced his provisional 47-man squad for the upcoming Asian Cup in Qatar. From December 13th to the 23rd, a 24-man squad of domestic (and Japanese-based) footballers will attend a training session at Seogwipo. After two days of rest from training, the team will fly out to the UAE on the 26th where they will finish their training.
Cho Kwang-rae must announce his final 23-man squad for the 2011 Asian Games by December 28th. For many of the domestic footballers, this training session at Seogwipo is their final opportunity to claim a ticket to the final Asian Cup squad.
Key footballers such as captain Park Ji-sung, Park Chu-young, Lee Chung-yong, Ki Sung-yong and others were named in the provisional squad. Son Heung-min, who has been impressive in Germany, has also been named to the squad. The top goalscorer of the season Yoo Byung-soo is also included in the squad as well as recent champions Jung Jo-gook, Lee Seung-ryul, Choi Hyo-jin and Kim Yong-dae.
Cerezo Osaka goalkeeper Kim Jin-hyeon will also be involved with the senior national team for the first time along with the stars of the generation shift such as Hong Jeong-ho, Yoon Bit-garam, Koo Ja-cheol, Kim Bo-kyung, Cho Young-cheol and Ji Dong-won.
2011 Asian Cup Provisional Squad
(*24-man squad for training at Seogwipo, Jeju)
▲GK = Jung Sung-ryong* (Seongnam), Kim Yong-dae* (Seoul), Kim Jin-hyeon* (Cerezo Osaka/JPN), Kim Ho-jun (Jeju), Ha Kang-jin (Suwon)
▲DF = Cho Yong-hyung (Al-Rayyan/QAT), Kwak Tae-hwi* (Kyoto Sanga/JPN), Lee Jung-soo (Al-Sadd/QAT), Kim Young-gwon* (FC Tokyo/JPN), Hong Jeong-ho* (Jeju), Hwang Jae-won* (Suwon), Kim Ju-young* (Gyeongnam), Cho Sung-hwan (Jeonbuk), Lee Young-pyo (Al-Hilal/KSA), Choi Hyo-jin* (Sangmu), Cha Du-ri (Celtic/SCO), Hong Chul (Seongnam), Yoon Suk-young* (Chunnam), Shin Kwang-hoon* (Pohang), Lee Sang-deok* (Daegu), Yang Sang-min (Suwon), Kim Chang-soo (Busan)
▲MF = Yoon Bit-garam* (Gyeongnam), Ki Sung-yong (Celtic/SCO), Shin Hyung-min (Pohang), Koo Ja-cheol* (Jeju), Park Hyun-beom* (Jeju), Ko Chang-hyun* (Ulsan), Kim Jung-woo (Sangmu), Kim Jae-sung (Pohang), Ha Dae-sung* (Seoul), Park Ji-sung (Man Utd/ENG), Lee Chung-yong (Bolton/ENG), Choi Sung-guk (Seongnam), Kim Bo-kyung* (Cerezo Osaka/JPN), Lee Yong-rae (Gyeongnam), Yeom Ki-hun* (Suwon), Cho Young-cheol* (Albirex Niigata/JPN)
▲FW = Son Heung-min (Hamburg SV/GER), Lee Keun-ho (Gamba Osaka/JPN), Ji Dong-won* (Chunnam), Jung Jo-gook* (Seoul), Lee Seung-ryul (Seoul), Park Chu-young (AS Monaco/FRA), Yoo Byung-soo* (Incheon), Kim Shin-wook* (Ulsan), Seo Dong-hyun (Gangwon)
