S. Korea to count on domestic stars for World Cup qualifier

By Yoo Jee-ho SEOUL, Aug. 22 (Yonhap) -- South Korea will look to in-form players in the domestic league in its opening game in the regional World Cup qualification round next month. A roster of 24 players was unveiled Monday for the country's qualification match against Lebanon on Sept. 2 in Goyang, west of Seoul. It will be South Korea's first match in the third round of the Asian qualification for the 2014 World Cup in Brazil. South Korea is also paired with Kuwait and the United Arab Emirates. The 24-deep team includes 13 players from overseas and 11 from the local K-League. The usual suspects, such as Celtic FC midfielder Ki Sung-yueng, Sunderland midfielder Ji Dong-won and Son Heung-min of Germany's Hamburger SV, will be counted on for offense. But head coach Cho Kwang-rae also picked K-League players who have been hot of late. One such player is midfielder Yeom Ki-hun of the Suwon Samsung Bluewings. He is back on the national team for the first time since the Asian Cup in January. He has scored two goals and set up four others in the team's past three K-League games, all Suwon victories. "Yeom has been using his speed and has played some excellent games," Cho said at a press conference. "A couple of months ago, he was well off his game and the Suwon club was struggling. But since becoming the team captain (in June), Yeom has turned things around, along with his team." Midfielder Park Hyun-bem, Yeom's Suwon teammate, is another returnee to the national team. Cho said he went with players with previous international experience, rather than rookies, since it would help the team gel quickly. Yeom will try to fill the void in midfield left by two injured stars, Lee Chung-yong of Bolton Wanderers in England and Koo Ja-cheol of VfL Wolfsburg in Germany. Lee is out for up to nine months with a double fracture in his leg, while Koo recently hurt his ankle in training and could miss several weeks. Cho also said he wanted to shore up his defense against Lebanon after South Korea's deflating 3-0 loss to Japan on Aug. 10. Cho had lamented his side's defensive breakdown against Japan, and on Monday named two emerging defenders to take care of business. Hong Jeong-ho, a defender for Jeju United, has rejoined the squad, after sitting out the Japanese game. Cho had left Hong off the roster then while the player was under investigation as part of the K-League match fixing probe. Hong has since been cleared of charges. "If we get all our usual defenders back in the fold, I don't think we need to worry too much about the defense," Cho said. "We have a little more time to work together (than before the Japanese game), and we should be able to replicate the defensive cohesion from earlier." Hong Chul, of Seongnam Ilhwa Chunma, is among a handful of candidates to succeed Lee Young-pyo as South Korea's top left wingback. Kim Young-kwon, who has been in the driver's seat for the claim, was injured in the Japanese game, and Hong could get a long look this time. The top two teams from each of the five groups this round will advance to the fourth and the final round. South Korea is seeking its eighth straight and ninth overall World Cup appearance. The national team's training camp will open this Sunday.