Son Heung-min, Lee Kang-in both included in final Korean World Cup squad

Korea national team head coach Paulo Bento answers questions during press conference in Gwanghwamun, central Seoul on Saturday. [NEWS1]

Korean national team head coach Paulo Bento has called up his final 26-man squad for the 2022 Qatar World Cup.

Included in the roster are national team captain Son Heung-min of Tottenham Hotspur, who is currently recovering from surgery on an orbital fracture, and rising star Lee Kang-in of RCD Mallorca.

It was unclear before the roster was announced Saturday if either midfielder would make the squad, Son because of his injury and Lee because he has been regularly sidelined by Bento over the last two years.

The four goalkeeper spots all went to familiar faces: Kim Seung-gyu of Al-Shabab, Song Bum-keun of Jeonbuk Hyundai Motors and Jo Hyeon-woo of Ulsan Hyundai.

Bento called up nine defenders — Kim Min-jae of Napoli, Kwon Kyoung-won of Japanese club Gamba Osaka, Kim Young-kwon of Ulsan Hyundai, Cho Yu-min of K League 2 club Daejeon Hana Citizen, Kim Moon-hwan of Jeonbuk, Kim Jin-su of Jeonbuk, Kim Tae-hwan of Ulsan, Yoon Jong-kyu of FC Seoul and Hong Chul of Ulsan.

In midfield, international stars Lee Kang-in, Lee Jae-sung of Mainz, Son Jun-ho of Shandong, Son Heung-min, Hwang Hee-chan of Wolverhampton Wanderers, Hwang In-beom of Olympiacos, Jung Woo-young of Al-Sadd and Jeong Woo-yeong of SC Freiburg are joined by Paik Seung-ho, Song Min-kyu of Jeonbuk, Na Sang-ho of FC Seoul and Kwon Chang-hoon of Sangmu.

The two forwards are Hwang Ui-jo Olympiacos and Cho Gue-sung of Jeonbuk Hyundai.

Korea will play their first game against Uruguay on Nov. 24.

BY YUN SO-HYANG [yun.sohyang@joongang.co.kr]