24 Make Latest National Team Cut

Now, it is the survival of the fittest.

The names of 24 players who will participate in the Korean national team’s overseas training camp were released.

The training will start on January 15 and last for six weeks. It is an opportunity to train the best members who will play in the 2006 Germany World Cup.

Except for players currently playing in European leagues, it will be the survival of the fittest among the players whose names are on the overseas training list to make the final roster of 2006 Germany World Cup.

The list released on December 19 added Kim Nam-il, Song Jong-guk (Suwon), goalkeeper Jo Jun-ho (Bucheon), midfielder Jang Hak-yeong (Sungnam), and attacker Jung Jo-guk (Seoul). Excluded since the last month’s preliminary list of 32 were Kim Yi-seop (Incheon), Park Dong-hyeok (Jeonbuk), Yi Sang-heon (Incheon), Jo Yong-hyeong (Bucheon), Yi Gang-jin (Tokyo Verdi), Kim Jin-wu (Suwon), Oh Beom-seok (Pohang), and Choi Sung-guk (Ulsan).

The new list only has four defenders while containing ten midfielders, including veterans Kim Nam-il and Song Jong-guk, and new blood like Yi Ho (Ulsan) and Jo Won-hee (Suwon), which should make for a no-holds-barred competition.

On offense, Jo Jae-jin (Shimizu) and Jung Jo-guk were added to the list, making the competition for starting spots even tougher.

Jong-Koo Yang yjongk@donga.com