National Team Faces Setback as Club Commitments Prevent Youngest Player's Participation

Courtesy of Brentford website

The Korea Football Association (KFA) announced Monday that Brentford FC defender Kim Ji-soo will not represent Korea at the upcoming Olympic men's football qualifiers in Qatar due to club commitments.

Brentford declined to release the 19-year-old defender for the Asian Football Confederation (AFC) U-23 Asian Cup, citing club-related reasons. Pohang Steelers midfielder Kim Dong-jin has been selected as his replacement by head coach Hwang Sun-hong.

Korea's U-23 team, led by Hwang, has set up a training camp in Dubai and is scheduled to travel to Qatar on Wednesday for the AFC U-23 Asian Cup, which also serves as the AFC qualifiers for the Paris Olympics. The tournament kicks off next Monday.
 

▲ Courtesy of Brentford websiteKim Ji-soo, who turns 20 on Christmas Eve, would have been Korea's youngest player at the AFC event. He has previously appeared in three matches for the U-23 national team and was called up to the senior national team for the AFC Asian Cup earlier this year, though he did not play.

Hours before departing for Dubai, Celtic FC informed the KFA that forward Yang Hyun-jun would also not be available for the tournament. Brentford subsequently confirmed Kim Ji-soo's unavailability, opting to keep him in England.

Dusseldorf forward Kim Min-woo has joined the Korean squad in Dubai, while Bae Jun-ho of Stoke City and Jeong Sang-bin of Minnesota United have yet to report to the national team.

In the AFC tournament, Korea will compete in Group B against the United Arab Emirates, China, and Japan. The top two teams from each group will advance to the quarterfinals, with the top three nations securing spots in the Olympics. The fourth-place team will face Guinea in an intercontinental playoff.

Korea has participated in every Olympic men's football tournament since the under-23 age limit was introduced in 1992.

Sayart

Kelly.K, pittou8181@gmail.com