Oh Hyun-gyu to wear iconic No. 18 for South Korea at 2026 World Cup

Oh Hyun-gyu (Besiktas) will wear the symbolic 'No. 18' jersey, signifying his status as the next in line in South Korea's football striker lineage, as he makes his World Cup debut.

The International Federation of Association Football (FIFA) released the squad lists and jersey numbers for all 48 participating teams in the 2026 North, Central American and Caribbean World Cup on the 2nd (Korean time).

Oh Hyun-gyu's dream of playing in the World Cup with the No. 18 jersey has come true.

Oh Hyun-gyu, who was with the national team as an 'alternate member' without a jersey number during the 2022 Qatar World Cup, wrote '18' as his goal in his notebook at the time.

In South Korean football, the No. 18 has been worn by strikers who represented their eras, such as Hwang Sun-hong, Cho Jae-jin, and Lee Dong-gook.

As Lee Kang-in, who originally wore No. 18, switched to No. 19 last year, Oh Hyun-gyu secured the No. 18. He will now defend this symbolic number on the World Cup stage.

Oh Hyun-gyu has been the national team's most productive attacker in the first half of the season for his club.

After leaving KRC Genk in Belgium in February and joining Turkish powerhouse Besiktas, he has scored 8 goals and provided 2 assists in official matches, including 6 goals and 1 assist in the league.

Oh Hyun-gyu is currently leading the competition for the starting 'lone striker' position within the national team.

Oh Hyun-gyu recently met with reporters and pledged, "I will do my best to show you through actions rather than words, as much as you expect."

'Captain' Son Heung-min (LAFC) will, as expected, wear his iconic No. 7 jersey for what is likely his fourth and final World Cup appearance.

Son Heung-min, who currently holds the record for most World Cup goals by a Korean player with 3 goals, alongside Park Ji-sung and Ahn Jung-hwan, will aim for the 'sole top scorer' title again wearing the No. 7.

Son Heung-min wore No. 9 in his first World Cup appearance in Brazil in 2014, and has since worn No. 7 in both the 2018 Russia World Cup and the 2022 Qatar World Cup.

Lee Kang-in (Paris Saint-Germain) will wear No. 19, the same number he wears for his club, while Kim Min-jae (Bayern Munich) will wear No. 4 for the second consecutive tournament.

'Midfield commander' Hwang In-beom (Feyenoord), who has returned after recovering from injury, will wear No. 6, Hwang Hee-chan (Wolverhampton Wanderers) will wear No. 11, and veteran midfielder Lee Jae-sung (Mainz) will wear No. 10.

Jens Castrop, the first naturalized player born overseas, has been assigned No. 23.

Jo Wi-je (Jeonbuk Hyundai Motors), who was called up as a replacement for the injured Jo Yu-min (Sharjah), has inherited Jo Yu-min's jersey number, 14.

He said, "I think showing a good performance by playing better than hyung (Jo Yu-min) would be a greater comfort (to him)."

◇ 2026 North, Central American and Caribbean World Cup South Korean National Team Jersey Numbers (by position, in order of jersey number)

▲ GK = Song Bum-keun (12, Jeonbuk Hyundai Motors), Cho Hyun-woo (21, Ulsan Hyundai), Kim Seung-gyu (30, FC Tokyo)

▲ DF = Lee Han-beom (2, FC Midtjylland), Kim Min-jae (4, Bayern Munich), Kim Tae-hyeon (5, Kashima Antlers), Lee Tae-seok (13, FC Seoul), Jo Wi-je (14, Jeonbuk Hyundai Motors), Kim Moon-hwan (15, Daejeon Hana Citizen), Park Jin-seop (16, Zhejiang FC), Seol Young-woo (22, Crvena Zvezda), Jens Castrop (23, Borussia Mönchengladbach)

▲ MF = Lee Ki-hyuk (3, Gangwon FC), Hwang In-beom (6, Feyenoord), Paik Seung-ho (8, Birmingham City), Lee Jae-sung (10, Mainz), Hwang Hee-chan (11, Wolverhampton Wanderers), Bae Jun-ho (17, Stoke City), Lee Kang-in (19, Paris Saint-Germain), Yang Hyun-jun (20, Celtic), Kim Jin-kyu (24, Jeonbuk Hyundai Motors), Um Ji-sung (25, Swansea City), Lee Dong-gyeong (26, Ulsan Hyundai)

▲ FW = Son Heung-min (7, LAFC), Cho Gue-sung (9, FC Midtjylland), Oh Hyun-gyu (18, Besiktas)