4 players added to men’s Olympic football team in special roster expansion

Four players were added to the South Korean men’s Olympic football team on Friday, following a FIFA decision to expand rosters for the Tokyo Games being held during the coronavirus pandemic.

The Korea Football Association (KFA) said Suwon Samsung Bluewings goalkeeper An Chan-gi, Seoul E-Land defender Lee Sang-min, Jeju United defender Kang Yoon-seong, and Busan IPark midfielder Kim Jin-gyu will join the initial 18-man squad announced by head coach Kim Hak-bum on Wednesday.

Teams were originally allowed to carry up to four alternates in case of injuries or illnesses, but Kim didn’t name any at the time.

In this file photo from June 12, 2021, Lee Sang-min (C) of the South Korean men’s Olympic football heads in a goal against Ghana in a friendly match at Jeju World Cup Stadium in Seogwipo, Jeju Island. (Yonhap)

Teams can still only make 18 players available for matches. If a player suffers injuries or gets sick, teams no longer have to dip into the pool of alternates, and simply make necessary changes within the team to set their 18-man match roster.

An is the third goalkeeper of the team, with Song Bum-keun and Ahn Joon-soo having been named earlier.

Lee is a longtime captain of the U-23 national team who will now be reunited with his centerback partner Jeong Tae-wook, whom coach Kim has anointed as his new captain. Lee scored a goal against Ghana on June 12 in the first of two friendly matches against them.

Kang rounds out the eight-man defense corps, and Kim Jin-gyu becomes the sixth midfielder.

The Olympic men’s football tournament is normally open to players under 23, but that age limit was raised to 24 for Tokyo, after the competition was postponed by one year due to the COVID-19 pandemic.

Teams can also name up to three players over that limit. Kim selected FC Girondins de Bordeaux striker Hwang Ui-jo, Suwon Samsung Bluewings midfielder Kwon Chang-hoon and Beijing Guoan defender Kim Min-jae.

Tottenham Hotspur star Son Heung-min was left off despite getting approval from his Premier League club. Because the Olympic tournament is outside FIFA’s jurisdiction, clubs aren’t under any obligation to release players for the occasion, as they would be for World Cup or international friendlies. It can put players in a tough place between club responsibilities and national team duties. Son had cleared the hurdle with Tottenham, but Kim Hak-bum still went in a different direction.

Coach Kim said later Friday that he left off Son to protect him from injury risks. He said Son had already played a ton of matches for Tottenham this past season and he detected “warning signs” during the Premier League campaign.

As for the expanded roster, Kim said the addition of four players doesn’t change his overall philosophy.

“These new guys have been with us all along,” Kim told reporters at the National Football Center in Paju, north of Seoul, before opening his final training camp prior to the Olympics. “We’re fortunate to have them. There are some physically demanding positions on our team, and we can now rotate these new faces.”

Kim said he wanted to make sure the four players wouldn’t feel as though they were just last-minute fillers.

“I’ll apologize to these players. I know they must have been devastated when they weren’t selected two days ago,” Kim said. “I’ll tell them they should try to prove me wrong (for not picking them at first).”