The 23 Taegeuk Warriors, excluding ‘captain’ Son Heung-min (Tottenham), have stepped up their training for the Tunisia match on October 13.
Head coach Jürgen Klinsmann’s squad convened on Oct. 9 ahead of the two October A matches (Tunisia-Vietnam). Cho Kyu-sung (Mitwillan), Kim Min-jae (Bayern Munich), and Park Yong-woo (Al Ain) joined the squad on the 10th, and the team is in full swing.
The big question mark is whether Son Heung-min will play. He hasn’t played full-time for his club due to a groin injury. He started against Luton in the eighth round of the English Premier League (EPL) on July 7, but was substituted after 76 minutes.
On Nov. 11, two days before the match against Tunisia, Son did not show up for team training. According to the Korea Football Association, he rode a bike indoors and had a massage. On the previous day, the 10th, Son Heung-min was also excluded from team training and focused on his recovery by cycling outdoors.
An official from the association said,바카라사이트 “He is not currently in pain. He has no problem training, but we are preparing carefully in case something goes wrong.”
“We will decide whether to play against Tunisia after hearing the final opinion of the team doctor on the 12th,” the official said. Earlier, Klinsmann said, “Son Heung-min will definitely want to play the A match,” adding, “There is no exclusion of certain players.”
The 23 Taeguk Warriors, excluding Son Heung-min, began their training with a fitness test. They started with the so-called “shuttle run,” which involves running back and forth for 20 meters to the sound of a beep. The tempo gets faster the further back you go. After about 25 round trips, they tested their cardiorespiratory endurance and then measured their ‘recovery speed’.
The athletes didn’t show any signs of struggle. “Coach Klinsmann is collecting data on the players’ basic fitness. We’ve been testing them since this training session, and we’re particularly interested in the data.”