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Center back to serve as S. Korea captain in Nov. football friendlies

November 15, 2018

BRISBANE, Australia, Nov. 15 (Yonhap) — South Korean defender Kim Young-gwon will serve as the team captain in the upcoming friendly football matches in Australia this month, a national team official said Thursday.

A Korea Football Association (KFA) official said Kim will wear the captain’s armband for South Korea’s friendlies against Australia on Saturday and Uzbekistan on Tuesday. Both matches will be played in Brisbane, Australia.

Since Paulo Bento took over the helm in August, Tottenham Hotspur forward Son Heung-min has been the captain for the men’s national football team. But Son was left off the roster following an agreement between his English Premier League club and the KFA in a trade-off for the player’s Asian Games appearance this summer.

Kim, 28, has been one of Bento’s first-choice center backs. The Guangzhou Evergrande center back has three goals in 60 caps, the most among defenders selected for the November friendlies.

Kim represented South Korea at the 2014 and 2018 FIFA World Cups. He scored South Korea’s opening goal in their 2-0 win over Germany at the World Cup in Russia.

South Korea national football team players Kim Young-gwon (R) and Lee Chung-yong train at Perry Park in Brisbane, Australia, on Nov. 15, 2018, two days ahead of an international friendly football match between South Korea and Australia. (Yonhap)

South Korea national football team players Kim Young-gwon (R) and Lee Chung-yong train at Perry Park in Brisbane, Australia, on Nov. 15, 2018, two days ahead of an international friendly football match between South Korea and Australia. (Yonhap)