Oh Hyun-gyu Shows 'Wild Charm' in First Training Session for 2026 World Cup Qualifiers
Herriman (Utah, US) = Yonhap News Agency) Reporter Ahn Hong-seok = Oh Hyun-gyu (Besiktas), who is emerging as the main striker for the Hong Myung-bo team, showed off his 'wild charm' in the first training session of the pre-camp held before the 2026 North, Central American World Cup.
The South Korean national football team, led by coach Hong Myung-bo, trained on the 25th (local time) at the Zions Bank Training Center in Herriman, near Salt Lake City, Utah.
While the main contingent of K-League players departed on the 18th and set up a pre-camp in Salt Lake City, European-based players such as Oh Hyun-gyu and Hwang In-beom joined the national team the previous day.
A total of 23 players, including three promising young players who came as training partners, sweated under the guidance of coach Hong Myung-bo against the backdrop of the Rocky Mountains.
The program was divided between players who had been training here for a week as the main contingent and players who joined the previous day and had their first training session today.
Among them, the most eye-catching player was Oh Hyun-gyu.
Towards the end of the approximately 1 hour and 30 minute training session, he took off his socks and shoes and ran barefoot.
Before that, he had already drawn attention by rolling up the ends of his shorts and revealing his sturdy thighs while training with his teammates.
A representative of the national team said, "Oh Hyun-gyu has many 'routines.' Barefoot running is something he always does during training. Taping his wrists during matches is also his routine. He said he tapes his wrists with the intention of raising his fighting spirit, like a boxer stepping into the ring."
Oh Hyun-gyu, who finished training early, took off his top entirely when his teammates were playing a mini-game of soccer with goals, drawing attention once again.
Yang Hyun-jun, who played one season with Oh Hyun-gyu at his former club Celtic, was asked if Oh Hyun-gyu used to do that at Celtic, and replied, "He did that at Celtic too. But because Hyun-gyu plays well in matches, even the foreign players started to follow Oh Hyun-gyu and take off their shirts."
Yang Hyun-jun also left the field barefoot after training. He said, "I'm barefoot right now, too."
This North, Central American World Cup is Oh Hyun-gyu's '1.5th' World Cup.
He was selected for the national team as a 'reserve player' for the 2022 Qatar World Cup.
Although he did not make the final 26-man squad at the time, then-national team coach Paulo Bento brought Oh Hyun-gyu to Qatar as the '27th Taeguk Warrior' without a jersey number, considering Son Heung-min's facial fracture injury and other factors.
Although he ultimately did not play in any matches, Oh Hyun-gyu, who had 'indirectly experienced' the World Cup stage at a young age, has grown well and is currently active as the main striker for the Hong Myung-bo team.
Oh Hyun-gyu has been the most consistent scorer for the national team among his club teammates this year. After leaving Hank of Belgium in February this year and joining Besiktas, he scored 8 goals and 2 assists in official matches, including 6 goals and 1 assist in the league.
