Oh Se-hoon, Bae Jun-ho and Hong Myung-boho’s ‘young blood’ strikers’ unstoppable performance

Oh Se-hoon clenches his fists after scoring against Kuwait. Yonhap News

Officials of the Korean national soccer team, which is attempting to advance to the finals for the 11th consecutive time through the North Korea, Central America World Cup, are smiling brightly at the outstanding performance of the so-called ‘young blood’ new strikers.

Korea, led by coach Hong Myung-bo (55), will play the 6th game of Group B of the 2026 North and Central America World Cup Asia 3rd Round Qualifier against Palestine at the Amman International Stadium in Jordan at 11 p.m. (Korean time) on the 19th. Palestine, ranked 100th in the FIFA rankings, is evaluated as one level below Korea (22nd) in terms of objective power. There is an analysis that if he wins this game, Hong Myung-Boho will be able to cross the 8th division of the World Cup finals. In the third preliminary round, Korea recorded 4 wins, 1 draw (13 points), and is leading the team by 5 points over second-placed Iraq and Jordan (8 points).

The new strikers shining in the offensive line are ‘Son Heung-min’s successor’ Bae Jun-ho (21, Stoke City) and ‘tall striker’ Oh Se-hoon (25, Machida Zelvia). In this match against Palestine, they will each attempt to record attack points in 4 consecutive games (Bae Jun-ho) and 3 consecutive goals (Oh Se-hoon). Both players first joined the national soccer team last June under interim coach Kim Do-hoon. In the same month, he also made his A-match debut in the 5th game of Group C of the North and Central America World Cup Asian 2nd qualifying round against Singapore. In this game, Bae Jun-ho came on as a substitute in the 26th minute of the second half and was in the spotlight by scoring his debut goal in 9 minutes.

The two players are shining even stronger under coach Hong Myung-bo, who has begun the generational change in the national soccer team. Bae Jun-ho played as a left-wing striker in place of Son Heung-min (32, Tottenham), who missed the World Cup 3rd qualifying round match against Jordan (2-0 win) and the fourth match against Iraq (3-2 win) last month due to injury. He showed off his presence by recording assists in both games. Riding an upward trend, he replaced Son Heung-min in the 19th minute of the second half in the 5th game against Kuwait (3-1 win) on the 14th and scored in 10 minutes, achieving an attack point in 3 consecutive games.

Bae Jun-ho raised attack points in three consecutive games. Yonhap News

When Bae Jun-ho, who is considered the best player in the English Championship (Second Division), attacked from the left flank, the opposing Kuwaiti defense collapsed one after another. He perfectly filled Son Heung-min’s void and was praised as ‘Son Heung-min’s successor’. Bae Jun-ho expressed confidence, saying, “Rather than feeling pressured (when entering the A match), I focus on my determination to change the flow.”

Striker Oh Se-hoon, with a height of 1m93cm, has solidified his position as a reliable replacement for Hong Myung-bo at the forefront in the situation where starting top lone player Cho Gyu-seong (26, Midtjylland) is out due to a knee injury. Scoring his debut goal with the help of Bae Jun-ho in the 4th game against Iraq last month served as a catalyst. With his momentum rising, he also scored a goal against Kuwait, scoring in two consecutive games. In the 10th minute of the first half, he scored the first goal by breaking down the opponent’s dense defense with a high-RBI header.

Oh Se-hoon is active this season with Machida, a Japanese J-League team, scoring 8 goals (2 assists). Even in the national team, it is evaluated that he is one step ahead in the competition for the top striker with Oh Hyun-gyu (23, Genk) and Joo Min-gyu (34, Ulsan). Oh Se-hoon expressed his determination, saying, “As we enter the second half, (performance) is not good, and we will improve this in the future.” Meanwhile, Hong Myeong-Boho, who was staying in Kuwait, boarded a chartered plane on the afternoon of the 17th and entered Amman, Jordan, after a two-hour flight.