South Korea defender Cho Wi-je earns late World Cup call-up

UTAH: South Korea defender Cho Wi-je has been added to the country's World Cup squad as a late replacement after Cho Yu-min was ruled out with a foot injury.

The 24-year-old was brought into the squad after South Korea's 5-0 friendly victory over Trinidad and Tobago on Saturday. Cho Wi-je had already been with the team as a training partner and is now in line to feature in Group A, where South Korea are set to face South Africa, the Czech Republic and co-hosts Mexico.

Cho Wi-je's selection caps a rapid rise over the past year. He was playing for Busan IPark in K League 2 until January before moving to South Korean champions Jeonbuk at the start of this year, where he made a strong impression in his first season in the top flight.

Speaking to reporters on Monday at the team's training camp in Utah, he said the call-up was difficult to believe.

If someone told me last year that I would be going to the World Cup in 2026, I would never have believed that.

he said.

This feels like a dream.

Cho Wi-je is now part of a national-team setup that also includes Bayern Munich centre-back Kim Min-jae, who has nearly 80 international appearances and years of experience in European football.

Referring to his senior teammate, Cho Wi-je said:

He has so much experience battling top European players and I want to pick his brain about that.

He added:

Min-jae is so much quicker than most players, and I have to be quicker on my feet to get to that level.

Cho Yu-min's injury came less than two weeks before South Korea's World Cup opener against the Czech Republic on June 11, ending his hopes of playing in the tournament. Cho Wi-je said it had been hard to see him leave after his contribution during qualification.

Yu-min played such an important role in helping us qualify for the World Cup, and it was really tough to see him leave.

he said.

To fill his void I just have to perform as well as I can.