Asian Games wild card Yang Hyun-jun: “I will make fewer mistakes and make sacrifices to win.”

(Handa [Japan] = Yonhap News) Reporter Oh Myeong-eon = In the Asian Games where the under-23 (U-23) soccer team plays, the role of the 'wild card', which is not subject to age restrictions, is absolute.

At the 2018 Jakarta-Palembang Asian Games, Son Heung-min, and at the 2022 Hangzhou Games, Baek Seung-ho and Seol Young-woo took center stage and jointly won the gold medal.

The wild card strategy put forward by Korea in this year's Aichi-Nagoya Games was also successful from the first game.

Along with Uhm Seong (Swansea City), who led the team to victory with a hat-trick against Qatar, the dedication of Yang Hyeon-jun (Celtic), who joined as another wild card, also shone.

Yang Hyun-jun, who played as a right wing striker, shook the opponent's defense by constantly digging into space, and contributed to the big win by helping score a key goal with an exquisite through pass.

Amid these performances, Korea took a fresh start by defeating Qatar 4-1 in the first match of Group D of the group stage.

On the 16th, the day after the game, Yang Hyun-jun met with reporters before starting recovery training at the Ikeda-cho training center in Handa, Aichi Prefecture, Japan, and said, "I was upset that we finished with a disappointing performance in the previous North and Central America World Cup, but I want to win the Asian Games and give joy to the fans."

This is in line with the determination of coach Lee Min-seong, who said ahead of the first game, "I will try to help Korean soccer rise again with a gold medal."

Korea aims to win the Asian Games for the fourth time in a row, following Incheon in 2014, Jakarta and Palembang in 2018, and Hangzhou 2022 (held in 2023).

If they fail to win the Asian Games, which is considered 'obvious', the fans' disappointment and anger toward Korean soccer and the Korea Football Association will inevitably increase, so the national team is determined to use this tournament as an opportunity to turn the tide.

Yang Hyun-jun said, "With a similar mindset to the coach, the entire team is united with one goal: a gold medal. There are many players with potential in the U-23 national team, and the coach seems to have said that he will use this tournament as a stepping stone to develop Korean soccer, believing that the young players can grow to the A national team in the future."

In the match against Qatar, Yang Hyun-jun dominated the side with his vigorous activity, and in the 21st minute of the second half, he delivered Kim Myeong-jun (20, KRC Genk)'s key goal with a sophisticated penetration pass.

However, he is still not satisfied with his performance.

Yang Hyun-jun commented, "Honestly, I wasn't satisfied with my personal performance. I missed a lot of chances, and I made more mistakes than I expected, so I felt like I needed to increase my concentration."

He continued, "I have to move and shake things up more actively on the side to disperse the opponent's defense. If I do my part, the entire team will be able to play more easily starting from the next game."

He did not hide his strong confidence and sense of responsibility toward winning.

Yang Hyun-jun pledged, “Personally, I need to make fewer mistakes, sacrifice more for the team, and go one step further,” and emphasized, “It was unfortunate that we conceded one goal yesterday, but if we can improve on that detailed concentration, we are fully capable of winning.”