Dozen K Leaguers named to Moreno's 1st S. Korean squad

CHEONAN, South Korea, Sept. 14 (Yonhap) -- A dozen players based in the domestic K League were named to the first squad assembled by Robert Moreno for the men's national football team Monday.

Moreno, the Spain-born tactician named as South Korea's interim head coach on Sept. 1, unveiled his 30-man squad for the Taegeuk Warriors' next four matches during a press conference at Korea Football Park in Cheonan, some 80 kilometers south of Seoul.

South Korea will host Ecuador on Sept. 24, Uruguay on Sept. 28, Venezuela on Oct. 2 and Uzbekistan on Oct. 6.

The presence of 12 K Leaguers out of 30 represents a larger-than-usual share for the South Korean league. At this year's FIFA World Cup, for instance, only seven out of 26 players represented the K League.

Moreno's first team includes several of the mainstays, including captain Son Heung-min (Los Angeles Football Club), defender Kim Min-jae (Bayern Munich), and midfielders Lee Kang-in (Atletico Madrid) and Hwang In-beom (FC Porto).

Moreno also selected three first-timers: Incheon United defender Kim Geon-hui, Gimcheon Sangmu midfielder Park Tae-jun and Rangers midfielder Kim Min-su.

There are four goalkeepers on the team, one more than usual, as Gu Sung-yu of the K League 1-leading FC Seoul joins a trio of veterans in Jo Hyeon-woo, Kim Seung-gyu and Song Bum-keun.

After these four upcoming matches, the Korea Football Association is also trying to schedule two more matches in November.

Moreno is signed through Nov. 27, with the KFA hoping to sign a full-time bench boss before the Asian Football Confederation Asian Cup in January. The KFA, though, inserted a clause in Moreno's clause that will give him a chance to stay on board for the Asian Cup, depending on South Korea's performances in his first six matches in charge.

South Korean football is trying to turn a new leaf after being eliminated in the group stage at this year's FIFA World Cup. Then head coach Hong Myung-bo and KFA honcho Chung Mong-gyu both resigned in the aftermath of the tournament, and they have even faced police investigation for the KFA's much-criticized hiring of Hong in July 2024.