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Yang Min-hyeok hopes to show finishing skills with Taeguk Warriors call-up

Published: 11 Nov. 2025, 19:41

Midfielder Yang Min-hyeok speaks to reporters before a training session at the National Football Center in Cheonan, South Chungcheong, on Nov. 11. [YONHAP]

Growing more confident with each passing match in England, Korean midfielder Yang Min-hyeok said Tuesday he is ready to demonstrate his ability to finish off chances around the goal.

Yang, 19, earned his first senior national team call-up since March, with Korea scheduled to face Bolivia on Friday and Ghana next Tuesday. The 19-year-old made his international debut in March and is now eager for more opportunities.

"I am very grateful to have been selected again," Yang told reporters before a training session at the National Football Center in Cheonan, South Chungcheong. "Now that I am back in such a precious spot, I feel like I have to work even harder."

Yang said he is in a much better spot than he was in March. Back then, the Tottenham Hotspur prospect was just two months into his loan spell with Queens Park Rangers in the second-tier English Football League Championship. Yang moved to another Championship club, Portsmouth FC, in August, and has since scored twice in 10 matches in all competitions.

"When I was with the national team earlier this year, I thought I hadn't yet made a full adjustment to England," he said. "I've played a few more matches there now and I've grown more confident. So I can come into the national team feeling more comfortable."

With veteran midfielders Hwang In-beom of Feyenoord, Paik Seung-ho of Birmingham City and Lee Dong-gyeong of Ulsan HD all out with injuries, the onus will fall on the remaining midfielders like Yang to pick up the slack.

Midfielder Yang Min-hyeok, right, chats with his head coach Hong Myung-bo before a training session at the National Football Center in Cheonan, South Chungcheong, on Nov. 11. [YONHAP]

"I may not be able to replace all of them, but I will try to capitalize on my strengths and help the team the best way I can," he said.

When pressed for what those strengths are, Yang replied, "I'd like to show my finishing ability for the national team. And if I am given the chance, I'd love to score goals."

Yang said playing in the Championship has taught him how to play with a more physical edge.

"It's such a physically demanding league and I've had to match opponents' power," he said. "I've thought I need to be better in that area, and I still have a long way to go."

Yonhap