Suwon Ambiguous Prospect → Jeonbuk Ace → Help the national team debut...Jun Jin-woo's "Life Turnaround Drama" continues
Suwon Ambiguous Prospect → Jeonbuk Ace → Help the national team debut...Jun Jin-woo's "Life Turnaround Drama" continues
Blog Article
Jeon Jin-woo is writing a drama that will turn the tables on his life.
South Korea's men's national soccer team, led by head coach Hong Myung-bo, played its ninth Group B match at Basra International Stadium in Basra, Iraq, on the 6th (Korea time), beating Iraq 2-0 in the third Asian qualifying round for the 2026 FIFA North-China World Cup. South Korea remained at the top of the group with 19 points and succeeded in participating in the World Cup for the 11th consecutive time, regardless of the results of the remaining match against Kuwait.
On this day, Hong chose a sense of stability rather than making changes to the starting lineup. It was difficult to make a big change prematurely because Son Heung-min and Kim Min-jae, the key players in offense and defense, were both absent. South Korea was a 4-2-3-1 model. Oh Se-hoon was in charge of the front line, while Hwang Hee-chan, Lee Jae-sung and Lee Kang-in supported the attack. Park Yong-woo and Hwang In-beom made up the midfield, Lee Tae-seok, Kwon Kyung-won, Cho Yoo-min and Seol Young-woo built the defensive line, and Cho Hyun-woo wore goalie gloves.
Instead, the replacement card consists of K-League players who have the sharpest sense of actual play. Kim Jin-kyu, Moon Sun-min, Jeon Jin-woo and Choi Jun appeared in the stadium in order. They clearly energized the national team and made significant contributions to Korea's push for Iraq in the second half.
Jun Jin-woo was substituted for Lee Jae-seong at the 29th minute of the second half and was deployed to the stadium. After joining the A-team for the first time, he made his debut as well. Following a confident dribble at the 32nd minute of the second half, Jeon displayed robust performance and bold shots to demonstrate that his performance has improved recently.
In the 37th minute of the second half, Hwang made his first assist for the national team. Hwang In-beom neutralized the Iraqi defense with a fantastic turning and supplied an penetrating pass, and Jeon Jin-woo, who took over, calmly supplied a low cross to the center. Oh Hyun-kyu used his right footed shot to push the ball between the goalkeeper's legs, ultimately determining the outcome.
A year ago, it was difficult to imagine Jeon Jin-woo playing for the national team. He was a promising player enough to participate in the 2019 U20 World Cup, but he rarely showed an upward trajectory at Suwon Samsung. He scored 11 goals in five years at Suwon, failing to explode his potential. The majority said he was okay with dribbling, but he did not fully open his eyes to soccer, and moving to Jeonbuk Hyundai last summer was a game changer to seek a turnaround in his career.
Jeon was reborn as an ace player in Jeonbuk. He showed consistent performance in the second half of last season, but has seen his scoring ability take off this season. The era of success has begun when the team changed its strategy to pour all of its energy near the penalty box. It has scored 11 goals in the league alone this season. It is leading the scoring list by beating over all of its leading strikers such as Joo Min-kyu (10 goals, Daejeon Hana Citizen), Eric (8 goals, Ulsan HD), and Lee Ho-jae (8 goals, Pohang Steelers).
In response, Hong also boldly selected Jeon for the "A" match in June. With Bae Joon-ho, Um Ji-sung, and Yang Min-hyuk, two second-line players who play in the English Championship (division 2), ending their schedules in early May, they have chosen Jeon instead, who is actively raising his stock price in the K-League, rather than urging them to join them at a time when they are losing sense of play in the actual matches. Jeon has properly lived up to Hong's belief by recording his help to seal the victory in this match. 스포츠토토
"I have never thought that I am superior to the national team players," Jeon said in an interview before leaving Korea on Tuesday. "They are all better players than me. I want to go and learn a lot. I am not good enough, but if I play in the game, I will do my best to contribute to the team," he said. "As I am a new player, I want to energize the team the most," expressing his expectation to join the national team for the first time. Jeon Jin-woo, as he said, revitalized the team, helped it, and laid the foundation for him to continue to be selected for the national team in the future.