Roster Released for Sept. 10 World Cup Qualifier

Lee Chun-soo of Suwon Samsung is in and Park Chu-young of FC Seoul is out.

National soccer coach Huh Jung-moo yesterday released the roster for a World Cup qualifier against North Korea on Sept. 10, the first match of the final Asian qualification round for the 2010 World Cup in South Africa.

Lee, who sought a spot on the team after leaving Feyenoord of the Netherlands for Suwon Samsung, made the cut instead of Park, who has shown poor performance in recent games.

Huh said he chose Lee because of his eagerness though he did not include him when Lee went to the Netherlands after last year’s Asia Cup and injured his ankle.

The coach made his decision after watching Lee score a goal against Incheon United in a K-League Cup game. Lee last played for the national team in July last year at the Asia Cup.

Park was excluded apparently because of his poor performance both in the K-League and on the national team. On why the forward did not make it, Huh said he thought Park would not show his full potential because of bad health.

Park, however, did score against Cameroon in group play at the Beijing Olympics, but how he will respond to his exclusion remains unclear.

Kim Doo-heon of England`s West Brom, Kim Dong-jin and Lee Ho of Russia`s Zenit St. Petersburg, Oh Beom-seok of Russia`s Samara and Kim Nam-il of Japan`s Vissel Kobe were named to the squad.

Not on the roster were Seol Ki-hyeon of England`s Fulham FC and Lee Young-pyo, who transferred to Germany`s Borussia Dortmund from England`s Tottenham Hotspur.

Kim Jin-gyu of FC Seoul will make his first appearance for the national team, as will Seo Dong-hyun of Suwon, who was not named to the Olympic team.

Lee Keun-ho of Daegu FC, Cho Jae-jin of Jeonbuk Hyundai and Shin Young-rok of Suwon will play on offense.

The national team will start training at the National Football Center in Paju, Gyeonggi Province, from Monday and play a friendly against Jordan Sept. 5.

The team leaves for Shanghai Sept. 7.

◇ 23-man roster

▽Goalkeepers: Kim Yong-dae (Gwangju); Kim Young-kwang (Ulsan); Jung Sung-ryong(Seongnam)

▽Defenders: Kang Min-soo (Jeonbuk) Cho Yong-hyung (Jeju) Kim Dong-jin (Zenit) Kim Jin-gyu, Kim Chi-gon, Kim Chi-woo (FC Seoul) Choi Hyo-jin (Pohang) Oh Beom-seok(Samara)

▽Midfielders: Kim Nam-il (Vissel Kobe) Lee Chung-yong, Gi Sung-yong (FC Seoul) Kim Do-heon (West Brom) Kim Jung-woo (Seongnam) Lee Ho (Zenit) Lee Chun-soo (Suwon) Choi Sung-guk (Seongnam)

▽Forwards: Shin Young-rok, Seo Dong-hyun (Suwon) Lee Keun-ho (Daegu) Cho Jae-jin(Jeonbuk)

yjongk@donga.com