S. Korea nat'l football coach looking for ways to cope without Tottenham attacker

ULSAN, Nov. 27 (Yonhap) -- South Korea national football coach Shin Tae-yong said Monday his team will try to find ways to attack without their talisman Son Heung-min at the upcoming regional tournament.

Shin called up 24 players for the East Asian Football Federation (EAFF) E-1 Football Championship in Tokyo. South Korea, which qualified for the 2018 FIFA World Cup, will face Japan, China and North Korea from Dec. 9 to 16.

The E-1 Football Championship isn't on the official FIFA international calendar, and European clubs aren't obliged to release their international players. That left Shin to play the tournament without Son, who is with the English Premier League side Tottenham Hotspur.

"This time, I want to think about who should be playing next to Son (when he's on the national team), and how we should form the attacking unit without Son," Shin said before the national team's training at Ulsan Stadium.

Son was pivotal in South Korea's impressive performances in the two friendly matches earlier this month. The 25-year-old attacker grabbed a brace in South Korea's 2-1 win over Colombia and played full-time in the 1-1 draw with Serbia. In both matches, Son played as a striker instead of his usual winger position.

For the E-1 Football Championship, Shin brought in three forwards -- Jin Seong-uk of Incheon United, Kim Shin-wook of Jeonbuk Hyundai Motors and Lee Jeong-hyeop of Busan IPark. Jin and Kim were not on the national team that faced Colombia and Serbia.

"I know about Jin and Kim's plays because I've coached them before," Shin said. "I want to find out synergy when the team has new players. Particularly, if Kim is in the match, we can think about formation changes, so I want to test him."

Although the four-nation tournament will be primarily about testing K League-based players, Shin said he will also fly to Europe to inspect other forwards such as Suk Hyun-jun and Hwang Hee-chan. Suk, who is with French club Troyes AC on loan from Portuguese side FC Porto, recently scored goals in three consecutive league matches, while Hwang, who is with Austrian outfit FC Red Bull Salzburg, has nine goals in 15 matches this season.

"Suk and Hwang are playing well recently," he said. "I will go to Europe and check them after the tournament is finished."

Unlike their frontline, Shin said he will not make big changes on defense, which is mainly formed with K League and other Asian league-based players.

"On defense, I don't see a player who is going to be replaced until the World Cup," he said. "On that basis, I will try to beef up our defensive organization."

The E-1 Football Championship, formerly known as the East Asian Cup, started in 2003, and the tournament enters its seventh edition. South Korea won three of the first six, with China having won twice and Japan earning their only title in 2013.

Shin, who took over the national team helm in July, said his side can't overlook the tournament.

"When I was an assistant coach in 2015, I didn't consider the tournament important, but now it's different because this is a test ahead of the World Cup," he said. "In particular, Japan and our team are both going to compete at the World Cup, so we need to earn both results and experience from this tournament."

kdon@yna.co.kr
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