The experimentation continues at Hong Myung-baek as it cruises toward the North and Central American World Cup. Since their first call-up in September, the team has been steadily adding new faces to the squad to shake things up.

At the center of it all are the side defenders. National team coach Hong Myung-bo, 55, called up left-back Lee Tae-seok (22-Pohang) on April 4 when he announced his 26-man roster for the fifth and sixth matches of the 2026 North and Central American World Cup 카지노사이트 모음 third qualifying round in Asia.

The eldest son of Lee Eun-yong (general manager of the Yongin Football Center), a member of the 2002 Korea-Japan World Cup quarterfinal squad, Lee has played regularly for the age-group national team, but this is his first call-up to the A team. It is only the third time in Korean soccer history that the father and son have both been capped.

Hong said, “Fullback (side defender) is a concern. We’re looking for players in that position,” Hong said, adding, ”Lee Tae-seok has been a consistent age-group representative, so we need to (check) him out at the senior level.”

Hong’s willingness to experiment is evident in the fullbacks who have been named to the squad recently. In September against Palestine and Oman, 2004-born rookies Choi Woo-jin (20-Incheon), Hwang Mung-ki (28-Gangwon) and Lee Myung-jae (31-Ulsan) were called up for the first time, competing with established players such as Seol Young-woo (25-Zvezda), Kim Moon-hwan (29-North Korea) and Hwang Jae-won (22-Daegu). In October, Park Min-kyu (29-Sapporo) was added to the squad after the team traveled to Jordan and brought Iraq home, and the competition for survival was fierce.

The two new faces who survived the process were Lee Myung-jae and Hwang Mun-ki. Left-back Lee Myung-jae only came on as a substitute against Palestine, but played the full first and second halves in the other three matches, while Hwang Mung-ki earned a passing grade as a substitute with two appearances on the right flank.

Given that the only European flanker, Seol Young-woo (25-Zvezda), is a regular starter, the only spot left in the fullback survival race is effectively a left flanker. Seol can play on both flanks, but he is right-footed and more comfortable on the right. Seol Young-woo assisted Lee Jae-sung (32-Mainz) with a sharp cross to open the scoring against Jordan from the right flank. He has also played every regular-season game on the right flank for his club, Tsrvena Zvezda, since October.

Football experts believe that Lee has the skills to settle down on the left flank. His left-footed delivery crosses are reminiscent of his father’s.

In his fourth year as a professional, Lee has played 24 games this year, reaching career highs with one goal and three assists. After moving to the Pohang Steelers last summer, he played on the right flank, but recently settled back into a left defender role. If Lee repeats his performance at the U-23 Asian Cup in April, where he recorded an assist in three consecutive games with a left-footed cross, he could threaten Lee Myung-jae’s first-team spot.

“I’m happy to join Pohang, score my debut goal and earn a call-up to the national team. As it is my first call-up, I will show my full potential,” he vowed.