'Striker Survival Competition' Oh Hyun-gyu: "Aggressive breakthrough is my strength"
'Striker Survival Competition' Oh Hyun-gyu: "Aggressive breakthrough is my strength"
Blog Article
Among the players born in the 2000s who have emerged as key figures in the national soccer team's 'generational change', Oh Hyun-kyu (23, Genk), the only front-line striker, has shown a strong will to survive the competition for a starting position with his seniors.
Oh Hyun-kyu met with reporters ahead of the national soccer team's training session held at the auxiliary stadium of the Jaber Al Ahmed International Stadium in Kuwait City, Kuwait on the afternoon of the 16th (Korean time) and emphasized, "I am still a player with shortcomings and have more to learn, but I still want to quickly show what I can do well."
Oh Hyun-kyu, who made his A-match debut in a friendly match against Iceland in November 2022, was consistently selected for the national team until the Asian Football Confederation (AFC) Asian Cup earlier this year, but failed to score a debut goal.
Oh Hyun-kyu almost ended up being forgotten as a striker as he was not called up by coach Hong Myung-bo for the first and second matches of the 2026 North and Central America World Cup Asian region 3rd Group B qualifiers (Palestine and Oman) held in September.
Meanwhile, Oh Hyun-kyu left Celtic (Scotland) this season and moved to Genk (Belgium) to take on a new challenge, and is continuing his good form with 3 goals and 1 assist in 12 regular league games this season.
Coach Hong, who had been watching Oh Hyun-kyu's performance, called him up for the 3rd and 4th matches of the 3rd qualifying round for the Asian region of the World Cup in October. Oh Hyun-kyu responded 파워볼 to Coach Hong's call and displayed outstanding performance by scoring in the 3rd match against Jordan (2-0 win) and the 4th match against Iraq (3-2 win).
Oh Hyun-kyu came on as a substitute in the second half of both games and scored consecutive goals. The goal against Jordan was his debut goal in an A-match.
Oh Hyun-gyu is competing with Oh Se-hoon (Machida Zelvia) for the 'top striker' position under Hong Myung-bo.
He stepped onto the field as a substitute for Oh Se-hoon, who started in both the Iraq match last month and the Kuwait match on the 14th (3-1 win).
Although he has yet to get a chance to start under Hong Myung-bo, such as when he came on as a substitute for Joo Min-kyu (Ulsan) in the match against Jordan last October, he is faithfully carrying out his duties as a 'super sub'.
Oh Se-hoon and Oh Hyun-kyu are neck and neck in the starting lineup as well as in the scoring competition, having scored two goals each under Hong Myung-bo.
Oh Hyun-gyu said about this, "Currently, Min-gyu Joo and Se-hun Oh, who are called up with me, are really good players, so I am in the process of training with them and learning from them," and did not lose his humility, saying, "It is a really good time for me. If I use it well, I will be able to become a better player in the future."
He expressed his confidence by saying, "I'm still lacking, but there are still areas where I can do well," and "I think I'm ahead in terms of being aggressive and going straight ahead. I think my shooting is stronger than my brothers' with both my left and right feet. I want to show more quickly."