Ex-Barcelona prospects cut from S. Korean Olympic team

Lee Seung-woo and Paik Seung-ho, a pair of former FC Barcelona youth products, failed to survive the first round of cuts for the South Korean men’s under-24 Olympic football team on Wednesday.

Head coach Kim Hak-bum announced his 23-man roster for a condensed training camp, set to begin next Tuesday at the National Football Center in Paju, north of Seoul.

The Korea Football Association (KFA) said Kim will then announce his final roster, with 18 players and four alternates, on June 30, a date that’s subject to change.

Lee Kang-in (L) of the South Korean men’s Olympic football team dribbles past Sabit Abdulai of Ghana during a friendly match at Jeju World Cup Stadium in Seogwipo, Jeju Island, on June 15, 2021. (Yonhap)

South Korea beat Ghana 3-1 last Saturday and then 2-1 on Tuesday.

From those 30, nine were dropped, most notably Lee and Paik.

Lee, 23, has seen his stock fall precipitously in recent months, as his playing time in Europe kept dwindling. His Belgian club, Sint-Truiden, loaned him to a Portuguese side Portimonense in February this year, but Lee appeared in only four matches, all as a sub. He had uninspiring performances in both matches against Ghana.

Paik bounced around Europe for a few years before finding a new home with Jeonbuk Hyundai Motors in the K League 1 this year. He played in Tuesday’s match and was mostly quiet, save for a couple of midrange shots.

Two other Europe-based youngsters made the cut: Valencia CF midfielder Lee Kang-in and SC Freiburg forward Jeong Woo-yeong. Lee will once again be the youngest player at camp at age 20.

Forwards Song Min-kyu and Kim Dae-won weren’t at the Jeju camp and were added this time.

Song, 21, played for the senior national team at World Cup qualifiers and is considered one of the most talented attackers in his age group. Kim attended the U-24 camp in March this year.

Among forwards, Cho Gue-sung, who scored in the first match, and Oh Se-hun, who had a solid showing in the second game, didn’t get the invite back. Lee Dong-jun, who scored the winning goal on Tuesday, will get another week at the new camp.

Of 30 players in Jeju, 29 got into a match. No. 1 goalkeeper Song Bum-keun remained glued to the bench, though he has perhaps the tightest grip on his job.

Two backups, Ahn Joon-soo and An Chan-gi, will return to camp next week to battle for the one remaining goalkeeper spot at the Olympics.

At other positions, there will also be eight defenders, six midfielders and six forwards at the NFC.

Though the Olympic tournament is open to U-24 players, countries can each name up to three players over that age limit — colloquially known as “wild cards” in South Korea.

Coach Kim said he hasn’t decided on his three overage players, but centerback Kim Min-jae, midfielder Kwon Chang-hoon and striker Hwang Ui-jo have been in the rumor mills as possible wild cards.

The KFA said the final Olympic team will play a tuneup match at home sometime in mid-July before departing for Japan on July 17.

The opening ceremony for the Olympics is July 23, but the men’s football tournament will kick off on July 22 for scheduling reasons.

South Korea will face New Zealand, Romania and Honduras in Group B. The top two countries from four groups will advance to the quarterfinals.

South Korea’s best Olympic performance so far is the bronze medal from the 2012 London Games.