Veteran striker Joo Min-gyu (Ulsan), who left his mark as the ‘oldest debutant’ on the Korean national soccer team,
described his first game under the Taegeuk flag as a half-success and looked forward to the next milestone, a ‘debut goal.’
Joo Min-gyu met with reporters after the 2026 North and Central America World Cup Asia 2nd qualifying home game against Thailand held at Seoul World Cup Stadium on the 21st and said,
“I tried countless times to become a member of the national team, imagined and dreamed a lot, but it has become a reality. 파워볼
“I was very happy, but I feel very disappointed that I couldn’t win,” he said.
Joo Min-gyu
On this day, Joo Min-gyu, who became the starting striker for Korea led by interim coach Hwang Seon-hong,
debuted in the international match with the oldest record of 33 years and 343 days.
He has been evaluated as the best striker in Korea, including being the top scorer in K League 1 in 2021 and 2023, but this was his first game wearing the Taegeuk mark after being ignored by the national team.
He, who was standing for the first time as a national team player in the Seoul World Cup Stadium filled with 64,912 people, smiled and said, “I had also seen the national team play as a spectator, and when I received the support, I got adrenaline and got excited.”
With Korea’s somewhat disappointing result of a 1-1 draw with Thailand, Joo Min-gyu played until the 19th minute of the second half and was replaced by Hong Hyun-seok (Gent).
There were several scenes where his strengths shined, including link-up plays,
but it was disappointing that he was unable to turn a good scoring opportunity into his debut goal
when the goalkeeper blocked a mid-range shot from Hwang In-beom (Zvezda) in the 20th minute of the first half.
National Team
Regarding this, Joo Min-gyu recalled, “I was preparing, but the ground conditions were not good,
so the arrivals were irregular…” and he pondered, “I think that will be a lot of memories for me as well.”
He continued, “Ahead of today’s game, I prepared to play the role of blocking the line at the top,
and I was asked to come down in the middle and create space for (Son) Heung-min or (Jeong) Woo-young.
I think it was a good fit because it’s my favorite play . “He said.
“If the team had won, I would have wanted to give it a high score, but since it was a draw, I don’t think I can give it a high score,” said Joo Min-gyu, who gave his play “50 points” that day, adding, “I’m a striker, so my next goal is a debut goal.” said.
The national team will now leave for Thailand on the 26th to play an away ‘return match’.
Joo Min-gyu said, “I think Thailand is not the same as before and has improved a lot.
I think I will have to put my head down and work hard for the next game as well.”