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Moon Seon-min adds new energies to Korea’s World Cup squad

Moon Seon-min adds new energies to Korea’s World Cup squad

Posted May. 31, 2018 08:07,   

Updated May. 31, 2018 08:07

한국어

Moon Seon-min’s 73rd-minute goal at the South Korean national soccer team’s eval‎uation match against Honduras on Monday resulted from his calm and agility. Few people expected Moon, who had his A-match debut on that day, to show such great performance.

Mainly playing as an outside forward, Moon has strength lies in his fast running. Moon, who can run 100 meters in less than 12 seconds, is assessed to be able to enhance the national team’s speed. In addition, he has the fighting spirit, with impressive concentration on taking the ball from opponent players and performing relentless tackles. An insider at Moon’s team said that when the club was discussing taking over Moon from a Swedish club, his scouter said he would add energies to the team.

At a May 21 ceremony in Seoul for the South Korean national squad’s departure for the Russia World Cup, Moon seemed confident, although he said he was “excited and trembling.” His rise from the bottom and experiences of hard times have toughened him. That is why national team coach Shin Tae-yong selected Moon as a member of his team, raising many eyebrows.

Moon, who had his pro debut in 2012, scored two goals in the year’s league, helping his club advance to the Second Division. He was leased to Djurgardens IF in the latter half of the 2015 season. Scoring a total two goals and making five assists in that year, Moon signed a formal contract with Djurgardens IF. However, he was not able to play in many games because of injuries and other reasons. In a situation in which he could fall behind in Sweden, Moon grabbed another chance by transferring to the Incheon United FC of the K-League. After scoring four goals and making three assists in 2017, his first year with the K-League, he had six goals and three assists in the first half of this year alone, grabbing a chance to join the national team, which was suffering from a series of injuries affecting some of its key players.


Jae-Hyeng Kim monami@donga.com