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Cho Gue-sung earns first call-up since knee surgery for November friendlies

Published: 03 Nov. 2025, 18:06

FC Midtjylland forward Cho Gue-sung warms up ahead of a Europa League league phase match against Nottingham Forest in Nottingham, Britain, on Oct. 2. [EPA/YONHAP]

FC Midtjylland forward Cho Gue-sung received a call-up to the Korean national team for the first time in 20 months after recovering from a knee injury, joining the 27-man squad for the November friendlies.

National team manager Hong Myung-bo announced his selection on Monday for the friendlies against Bolivia on Nov. 14 and Ghana on Nov. 18.

Cho, 27, joins the forward lineup with KRC Genk's Oh Hyeon-gyu and Los Angeles FC's Son Heung-min. Cho's call-up to the national squad is his first since undergoing knee surgery in May 2024 and spending 448 days off the pitch, before returning to action on Aug. 17.

This is the first time Cho has received a call-up from Hong, who took the helm in July last year. Cho earned his last cap in a 2026 FIFA World Cup qualifier against Thailand in March 2024.

Fellow players based in Europe also made the cut.

Over in the midfield, Wolverhampton Wanderers’ Hwang Hee-chan, Feyenoord’s Hwang In-beom, Mainz’s Lee Jae-sung, Paris Saint-Germain’s Lee Kang-in, Birmingham City’s Paik Seung-ho, Borussia Mönchengladbach’s Jens Castrop, Portsmouth’s Yang Min-hyeok, Swansea City’s Eom Ji-sung and FC Nantes’ Kwon Hyuk-kyu made it to the squad. Joining the Europe-based midfield picks are Khor Fakkan’s Won Du-jae, Ulsan HD’s Lee Dong-gyeong, Jeonbuk Hyundai Motors’ Kim Jin-gyu.

The defense selection includes Bayern Munich center-back Kim Min-jae alongside Sharjah’s Cho Yu-min, FC Midtjylland’s Lee Han-beom, Jeonbuk’s Park Jin-seop, Kashima Antlers’ Kim Tae-hyeon, Daejeon Hana Citizen’s Lee Myung-jae and Kim Moon-hwan, Austria Wien’s Lee Tae-seok and Red Star Belgrade’s Seol Young-woo.

Goalkeepers Kim Seung-gyu of FC Tokyo, Jo Hyeon-woo of Ulsan and Song Buk-keun of Jeonbuk complete the squad.

The Taeguk Warriors will undergo training at the new National Football Center in Cheonan, South Chungcheong, for the first time since its opening last month, moving from the long-used training base in Paju, Gyeonggi.

Depending on the results of the two friendlies, 22nd-ranked Korea could retain its Pot 2 position in the 2026 World Cup draw or drop to Pot 3.

Teams in the World Cup are divided into pots based on their FIFA rankings and drawn into groups by pot in a bid to facilitate a balanced opening stage.

Staying in Pot 2 means Korea would face only one top-tier team from Pot 1, improving its chances of a favorable draw. Dropping to Pot 3 would likely place Korea against two higher-ranked opponents.

This article was originally written in Korean and translated by a bilingual reporter with the help of generative AI tools. It was then edited by a native English-speaking editor. All AI-assisted translations are reviewed and refined by our newsroom.
BY LEE HAY-JUNE [[email protected]]