Bento names national team for World Cup qualifiers

Korean national team head coach Paulo Bento announces his squad for the final round of qualifiers for the 2022 Qatar World Cup at the Korea Football Association office in central Seoul on Monday. [YONHAP]

Korean national football team head coach Paulo Bento on Monday announced his squad for Korea's final two World Cup qualifiers set to begin on March 24.

Korea has already secured a place at the 2022 Qatar World Cup with 20 points to land securely within the two qualifying spots at the top of Group A in the third round of Asia qualifiers. Yet despite having already qualified, Bento has called up a full-strength squad for the final two games.

The majority of Korea's European stars have been called up, with Tottenham Hotspur's Son Heung-min, Wolverhampton Wanderers' Hwang Hee-chan, Bordeaux's Hwang Ui-jo, Mainz's Lee Jae-sung, Freiburg's Jeong Woo-yeong and Fenerbahce's Kim Min-jae all named to the squad.

Jung Woo-young of Qatari side Al Saad, Kim Seung-gyu of Kashiwa Reysol and Kwon Kyung-won of Gamba Osaka complete the international lineup.

K League stars are also out in force, including national team regulars like Kwon Chang-hoon of Gimcheon Sangmu, Kim Young-gwon of Ulsan Hyundai and Kim Jin-su of Jeonbuk Hyundai Motors.

One noticeable absence is midfielder Hwang In-beom of Russian club Rubin Kazan, who recently returned to Korea to recover from an injury. Hwang Hee-chan's availability is also questionable, as he left a game against Everton on Sunday in the 16th minute with what appeared to be a leg injury.

Both Hwang Hee-chan and Son missed out on Korea's most recent round of World Cup qualifiers due to injury sustained during their Premier League careers. Son at least appears to be fit and looks likely to return to his place at the helm of the national team.

Korea has two World Cup qualifiers left to play — on March 24 against Iran and March 29 against the United Arab Emirates.

BY JIM BULLEY [jim.bulley@joongang.co.kr]