(2nd LD) Tottenham's Son Heung-min named to S. Korean Olympic squad

(ATTN: ADDS coach's comments, details throughout)
By Joo Kyung-don

SEOUL, June 27 (Yonhap) -- Tottenham Hotspur attacker Son Heung-min has been tasked with leading South Korea's quest for a second straight Olympic football medal.

On Monday, Son was named to South Korea's 18-man squad for the Rio de Janeiro Summer Olympics.

South Korea will be competing in their eighth straight Olympics but have won just one medal so far -- bronze at the 2012 London Olympics.

The Olympic football tournament, featuring 16 nations, is open to players under the age of 23, but each country is permitted up to three overage players as "wild cards."

Son, who turns 24 on July 8, was one of head coach Shin Tae-yong's wild-card selections, along with FC Porto forward Suk Hyun-jun and Guangzhou R&F defender Jang Hyun-soo.

This marks the first time South Korea have selected two forwards as wild cards since overage players were allowed to compete at the 1996 Atlanta Olympics.

"We may not have renowned players like we had in London," head coach Shin Tae-yong said at a press conference in Seoul. "But I want fans to have trust in our players and watch how they fulfill expectations."

South Korea have been paired with Germany, Mexico and Fiji in Group C.

This will be Son's first Olympics. For the senior national team, Son has netted 15 goals in 47 matches.

Suk and Jang also have international experience at the senior level. Suk, 25, has four goals in 10 career matches, while Jang, 24, has three goals in 26 matches.

Son and Suk, both dynamic offensive players, are expected to add a much-needed scoring punch up front for a team that has received little production from forwards.

Jang, who also helped South Korea to the gold medal at the 2014 Incheon Asian Games, should give coach Shin some versatility on defense, as he can play both as a back and a midfielder.

"Unlike the FIFA World Cup (where you can field a 23-man squad), we can only take 18 players to the Olympics, so we had to select players who can play in multiple positions," Shin said.

Kwon Chang-hoon, a Suwon Samsung Bluewings midfielder with a nose for the goal, will also be asked to help out in the scoring department. He has three goals in seven matches for the senior national side and seven in 14 matches for the U-23 team.

Other notable players on the squad are Ryu Seung-woo, an attacking midfielder for the second-tier German club Arminia Bielefeld, and Hwang Hee-chan, an emerging forward for Red Bull Salzburg in Austria. Hwang, the youngest member of the team at 20, played an instrumental role during the Asian qualification for the Olympics in January.

"Our team's strength is in the midfield, with players who are good at penetrating opposing defenses and scoring goals," Shin said. "I don't think our defense is weak, but I do have a little concern about (Sim Sang-min of FC Seoul and Lee Seul-chan of Jeonnam Dragons), who have struggled to get off the bench for their clubs."

The team's two goalkeepers are Kim Dong-jun of Seongnam FC in South Korea and Gu Sung-yun of the Japanese club Consadole Sapporo.

"I will be thankful if they can always show their best performances, but they are also humans," Shin said. "But the competition between the two is going well, as we still can't determine who the regular player will be."

In addition to the pair in net, there are seven defenders, six midfielders and three forwards.

However, Shin decided not to name reserves who can replace injured players at the Olympics.

"It takes more than 27 hours to travel to Rio, and if we don't use those players, they will be disappointed, as well as their clubs," Shin said. "So I decided not to announce a squad of alternative players because they will not travel with the players on the main roster."

South Korea will open the tournament against Fiji on Aug. 4 in Salvador and will face Germany three days later, also in Salvador. The group final will be against Mexico on Aug. 10 in Brasilia.

The top two teams from each of the four groups will reach the quarterfinals.

Should South Korea make it past the group phase, they will face either the winner or the runner-up from Group D in the quarterfinals, depending on the seeding. Argentina, Portugal, Algeria and Honduras are in Group D.

South Korea will depart for Sao Paulo on July 18 to set up camp there, and will face Iraq on July 25 and then Sweden five days later in final tune-up matches.

"Honestly, I think our level of play is currently at about 60 or 70 out of 100 points," Shin said. "We will make that 100 in Sao Paulo. I will tell the players why we have traveled there."

kdon@yna.co.kr
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