2024-03-25 08:46:00
Uhm Seong (No. 11) scored the winning goal in the semifinals of the WAFF U-23 Championship against Saudi Arabia on the 24th. In the scene just before, there was an assist from Bae Jun-ho (left, number 20). Photo = Korea Football Association Olympic team (under-23, U-23) midfielder Bae Jun-ho (Stoke City) will return to his team early ahead of the final of the West Asian Football Federation (WAFF) U-23 Championship. His team, Stoke, requested his early return, and the Korea Football Association (KFA) accepted this request.
On the afternoon of the 25th, KFA said, “Bae Jun-ho’s team Stoke, which is participating in the WAFF Championship, requested the player’s early return to prepare for the league match. “KFA and the Olympic team coaches accepted the club’s request and decided to have Bae Jun-ho return to his team today instead of playing in the finals of the competition held on the 27th.”
On the 11th, Bae Jun-ho was called by coach Hwang Seon-hong to join the Olympic team and head to the WAFF U-23 Championship held in Saudi Arabia. According to Coach Hwang at the time, after the away training in Turkiye last month, he visited several European clubs to ask for their cooperation, and thanks to this, it is known that discussions on selection were completed in March as well as April. In April, the Asian Football Confederation (AFC) U-23 Asian Cup, which determines qualification for the Paris Olympics, will be held, but since this period is not the A-match period recognized by the Federation Internationale de Football Association (FIFA), mandatory call-up was difficult. However, as Coach Hwang solved this problem, European players including Bae Jun-ho, Yang Hyun-jun (Celtic), and Kim Ji-su (Brentford) joined the national team this month.
However, because coach Hwang Seon-hong was absent for the A-match, head coach Myung Jae-yong took the baton instead and took the lead in this WAFF U-23 Championship. The Olympic team defeated Thailand 1-0 on the 21st and then advanced to the finals by beating the host nation, Saudi Arabia, 1-0. Bae Jun-ho played in both games and helped the team win two games in a row. In particular, in the semifinal against Saudi Arabia, he helped Uhm Seong (Gwangju FC) score the opening goal with an accurate through ball. However, at the request of his team, he was not able to participate in the final against Australia on the 27th.
The 11 members of the Olympic team who started in the WAFF U-23 Championship semifinal against Saudi Arabia. Photo = Korea Football Association
The news of Bae Jun-ho being selected to the national team in March/April also attracted attention locally. Stoke-on-Trent Live, which covers Stoke news, predicted on the 15th, “Unless the situation in Stoke changes significantly, Bae Jun-ho will focus on the team instead of going to Qatar for the Olympic qualifiers.” Stoke is 19th in the league (41 points), with a gap of only 3 from the relegation zone (22nd to 24th). If Bae Jun-ho is missing in April, when the battle for rankings is in full swing, it will inevitably be a huge blow to Stoke.
Bae Jun-ho, who returned to Stoke early, is expected to prepare for the 39th round of the 2023-24 English Football League (EFL) Championship (second division) against Hull City on the 30th.
Reporter Kim Woo-jung [email protected]
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