Koreans in Europe: Cho Gue-sung penalty seals Midtjylland's 3-0 victory over Vejle BK

Football

Published: 18 Mar. 2024, 11:08 Updated: 18 Mar. 2024, 17:58

Koreans in Europe: Cho Gue-sung penalty seals Midtjylland's 3-0 victory over Vejle BK

FC Midtjylland forward Cho Gue-sung celebrates during a Superliga match against Vejle BK at MCH Arena in Herning, Denmark in a photo shared on Midtjylland's official Instagram account on Sunday. [SCREEN CAPTURE]

FC Midtjylland forward Cho Gue-sung scored a stoppage-time penalty to seal his side’s 3-0 win over Vejle BK on Sunday ahead of his national team duty this week.

After Aral Simsir and Paulinho scored a goal apiece to make it 2-0 by the 76th minute at MCH Arena in Herning, Denmark, Cho stood up in the 96th minute to score the team’s last, recording his 10th Superliga goal of the 2023-24 season.

Midtjylland went one point clear of second-place Brondby at the top of the 12-team league table thanks to their 3-0 victory.

Cho’s success on Sunday came after he missed a penalty against Brondby last month.

After joining Midtjylland last summer from K League 1 side Jeonbuk Hyundai Motors, the 26-year-old got off to a smooth start, scoring three goals in three consecutive league matches.

He has displayed solid form since, scoring five more goals for Midtjylland before joining the Korean national team for the AFC Asian Cup that ran from January to last month.

But his performance was lacking at the Asian Cup where Korea exited with a semifinal loss to Jordan, scoring just one goal and failing to produce in front of the net.

Sunday’s goal is a bright sign ahead of his return to the national team, who will play two 2026 World Cup qualifiers against Thailand on March 21 and 26 during the FIFA international break.

He is the only regular striker pick for the qualifiers, as interim manager Hwang Sun-hong dropped Celtic forward Oh Hyeon-gyu from the roster. Instead, Cho will be joined by Ulsan HD striker Joo Min-kyu, who received the national duty call for the very first time as the oldest player in national team history at the age of 33 years and 333 days.

Cho and Joo competed in the 2022 K League 1 for the top scorer title, during which Cho edged out Joo to take the title by fewer minutes played despite tying on number of goals, 17.

Joo joins the national team on the back of the 2023 K League 1 top scorer title, again with 17 goals.

Korea will play the first World Cup qualifier at home, followed by the second game in Thailand. Korea is leading in Group C of the second round, where the top two teams out of four advance to the next.

Midtjylland will be back in action after the international break, with the season lasting through May.

BY PAIK JI-HWAN [paik.jihwan@joongang.co.kr]