With Wolverhampton Wanderers forward Hwang Hee-chan mired in an early-season slump in the Premier League, his national team head coach is hoping the next pair of World Cup qualifiers will serve as the turning point for the 28-year-old. Hwang has been a mainstay for the Taegeuk Warriors for several years and earned another callup Monday, as South Korea prepare to face Jordan on Oct. 10 and Iraq on Oct. 15 in the third round of the Asian World Cup qualification. He has 68 caps and 15 goals for his international career. While most others on the 26-man squad have been getting regular action with their clubs, Hwang has been pushed out of the starting lineup. This has been a curious development, a season after Hwang led Wolves with 12 goals in 29 league matches. He has zero goals and assists in five league contests so far this season. Hwang excelled for South Korea at the start of the third round earlier this month. He was the offensive sparkplug off the bench in the team's goalless draw against Palestine on Sep t. 5 and then scored South Korea's first goal in their 3-1 win over Oman five days later. While unveiling his team, South Korea head coach Hong Myung-bo said he will try to help Hwang get going again. "The national team can help players in a couple of ways. For one, a new face can come and announce his arrival with a good showing," Hong said. "Secondly, a struggling player can feel rejuvenated after playing well for the national team and start playing better for his club. I think Hwang Hee-chan has been a good player for the national team, and the Oman match was the latest example. I will talk to him about his form and figure out how to best use him." Hwang is known for his aggressive forays into the attacking third and has shown good finishing skills too. To further bolster his offense, Hong will take three forwards, one more than the last set of matches. Joo Min-kyu of Ulsan HD FC and Oh Se-hun of FC Machida Zelvia are back for their second go-around together. Joo started the Palestine match, but Oh gen erated more opportunities as a second-half substitute. Oh then started the Oman match, but Joo scored a goal in the second half after coming in off the bench. This time, Oh Hyeon-gyu of KRC Genk will join them in a battle for playing time up front. Hong said he also considered Lee Young-jun, the 21-year-old forward for the Swiss side Grasshopper, for the third forward spot but ultimately went with Oh Hyeong-gyu for more diversity in playing styles. "Joo didn't play a perfect match, but he did score a goal and created some dangerous chances. He wasn't so bad," Hong said of the two-time K League 1 scoring champion. "Lee Young-jun and Oh Se-hun play a similar style. He doesn't play heavy minutes, but he can still be productive. I felt we would be better off having different options when we try to attack Jordan on the flanks." Source: Yonhap News Agency
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