스포츠조선 DB
A match warm-up match between South Korea and Bolivia held at Daejeon World Cup Stadium on the 14th. Coach Hong Myung-bo is waiting for the start of the game. Daejeon = Reporter’s wook@sportschosun.com/2025.11.14/
There were even questions about naturalization. However, Coach Hong Myung-bo waited for the right time. Jens Kastrov (Mönchengladbach), who was chosen by Hong, will start.
The South Korean national soccer team, led by head coach Home Myung-bo, is set to play a friendly match against Ghana at the Seoul World Cup Stadium on the 18th.
Coach Hong Myung-bo brought out the three-back again on the day. It’s a 3-4-2-1 formation. As announced after the match against Bolivia, Oh Hyun-kyu (Henk) was in the one-top. Son Heung-min (LAFC) and Lee Kang-in (Paris Saint-Germain) were located on the left and right sides. Son Heung-min will start from the side for the first time since March and lead the attack. In the midfield, Lee Tae-seok (Austria Vienna), Jens Kastrov (Mönchengladbach), Kwon Hyuk-kyu (Nant), and Seol Young-woo (Zvezda) lined up. Kim Min-jae (Bayern Munich), Park Jin-seop (Jeonbuk), and Cho Yoo-min (Sharja) will breathe in the three-back. Song Bum-keun (Jeonbuk) defended the goal.
A match warm-up match between South Korea and Bolivia held at Daejeon World Cup Stadium on the 14th. South Korea won 2-0. Jens Kastroff sharing high fives with Son Heung-min. Daejeon = Reporter’s wook@sportschosun.com/2025.11.14/
The biggest change is the castrope. In the last game of 2025, he was chosen by Hong. He is a castrope who succeeded in making his A-match debut as the first in the history of the Korean national soccer A team ‘mixed-blood player’. Born to a German father and a Korean mother, Kastrov wanted to play in the World Cup under the national flag by changing his affiliation from the German Football Association to the Korean Football Association, and was chosen by coach Hong Myung-bo, who did not turn a blind eye to his determination and outstanding skills. In September, he played in both A matches and raised expectations along with his consistent performance. He also played for his team, Mönchengladbach.
But the reality was cold. After the match against Mexico, he was not listed as a starter and was going through a difficult time. In the October A match, 45 minutes against Brazil and Paraguay were absent. In the previous match against Bolivia, he was put in the 40th minute of the second half with a 2-0 lead and played only five minutes. It seemed that he was pushed back from the competition for the national team’s midfield due to his poor performance. It is not easy to continue the journey to the World Cup stage if Hwang In-beom and Baek Seung-ho do not take the opportunity even when they have been eliminated. After his participation in Korea, the German media tried to criticize him forcibly over the military issue.
스포츠조선 DB
In the last game of 2025, he was chosen again and took the opportunity to turn the mood around. Castrov’s role is important in the midfield combination that head coach Hong put forward. Together with Kwon Hyuk-kyu, he should exert his influence in the midfield and play as a link between the offense and defense through the amount of activity. Defensive ability to protect defense is of course important.
After the last match against Bolivia, Castrov was determined to play. “Of course, if there’s a game where I haven’t played a lot of time, I want to play more. In the end, however, it is up to the director to make the decision. The director has an idea, and my job is to show my best performance during the given time” he said. As for the World Cup, “I would be very happy if I could go to the World Cup. I will do my best as I did in other games.”
The time for proof is now approaching. Castrov, who was given the opportunity as a starter in the last game of 2025, must prove himself the qualification of Hong Myung-bo’s midfield so that he can be given time to continue his performance until the World Cup journey.
