Midfielder Hwang In-beom says he's almost back to full health before World Cup

Korean international Hwang In-beom has spent most of the past half-year rehabbing assorted injuries. The midfielder for Feyenoord in the top Dutch league hurt his calf in September 2025, his thigh in November 2025 and his ankle in March.

The last of those ailments knocked Hwang out for the rest of his club season, a cause for concern for the national team, which had been relying heavily on the 29-year-old midfielder. In a bid to get him back to health for the FIFA World Cup, which kicks off on June 11, the Korea Football Association assigned members of the national team medical staff to help with Hwang's rehab.

The move has apparently worked, with Hwang claiming that he's almost back to full health.

“I can jump into training with the rest of the squad right away. There's no need for concern,” Hwang told reporters at Zions Bank Training Center in Herriman in the Salt Lake City metropolitan area. Korean players have set up their training camp in the high altitude of Utah to prepare for matches in similar conditions in the Mexican city of Guadalajara next month.

“I can feel that my movements have been getting smoother with each passing week,” Hwang added. “But I still have to get my match sharpness back, and it's something that I have to do by playing. Fortunately, we have a couple of matches before the tournament.”

Hwang was referring to Korea's two friendlies during their Utah camp against Trinidad and Tobago on Saturday and El Salvador on June 3. Korea's first World Cup match will be against the Czech Republic in Guadalajara on June 11.

With Hwang sidelined, Korea dropped their two previous matches in March, losing 4-0 to the Ivory Coast and then 1-0 to Austria. Many pointed to Hwang's absence as a big reason for those losses since head coach Hong Myung-bo's team sorely missed Hwang's smart, two-way plays from the midfield.

“I don't think that we played poorly just because I wasn't there,” Hwang said. “We have players who can always step in for people who aren't available. Those would still have been difficult matches even if I had been there.”

Hwang is now gearing up for his second World Cup. Four years ago in Qatar, Hwang helped Korea reach the round of 16.

With the tournament having expanded from 32 to 48 teams, the knockout stage this year will begin in the round of 32. Hwang said that the objective is to go deeper into the competition than in Qatar, which will mean a trip to the quarterfinals.

“Once you get to the knockout stage, anything can happen,” he said. “At the last World Cup, some teammates and I were gassed after the three group stage matches. This year, we have plenty of time off between group matches, and it should help us if we get to the round of 32 and 16.”

Hwang admitted that he had been worried about his ability to help the national team this summer, considering his recent injury history, but he is now confident in the team's chances.

“If we can all come together like we did the last time, I think that we can bring joy to so many people back home,” Hwang said. “We have so many talented players here. And to make the most of our abilities, we have to put the team first and make sacrifices.”

Yonhap