Yongin: South Korean forward Jeon Jin-woo was dropped from the national team just ahead of a regional tournament at home Monday due to dizziness.
According to Yonhap News Agency, the Korea Football Association (KFA) announced that Jeon, who leads the K League 1 this year with 12 goals for Jeonbuk Hyundai Motors, will be replaced by Jeong Seung-won of FC Seoul for the East Asian Football Federation (EAFF) E-1 Football Championship. This marks the first senior national team selection for the 28-year-old Jeong, who has previously appeared in 15 matches for the under-23 national team.
South Korea is set to open the tournament against China at 8 p.m. Monday at Yongin Mireu Stadium in Yongin, located approximately 40 kilometers south of Seoul. Per tournament regulations, teams are permitted to make injury replacements up to six hours before the kickoff of their first match.
Jeon Jin-woo has been having a standout season for Jeonbuk Hyundai Motors, the leading team in K League 1, and recently earned his first senior international call-up for South Korea's final two World Cup qualifying matches. He contributed an assist off the bench in his debut against Iraq and earned his first start in the subsequent match against Kuwait.
With the EAFF tournament not included in FIFA's international match calendar, clubs are not obligated to release their players. Consequently, the participating nations have primarily selected players from their domestic leagues. South Korea's head coach Hong Myung-bo assembled his squad with 23 players from the K League and three from Japan's J1 League.
Hong has expressed that the EAFF tournament will serve as an opportunity to evaluate Asia-based players with the FIFA World Cup less than a year away. Following the match against China, South Korea will face Hong Kong on Friday and Japan on July 15, both fixtures taking place at Yongin Mireu Stadium.