“It’s taken a long time.”
Oh Hyun-kyu (23, Genk), a national striker, scored an additional goal in the third Group B match of the 2026 North-China World Cup Asia 3rd qualifying round against Jordan at Amman International Stadium in Jordan on the 10th (Korea time) to lead the team to a 2-0 victory. Oh Hyun-kyu, who was substituted for Joo Min-kyu (Ulsan) in the 7th minute of the second half with Lee Jae-sung (Mainz)’s header first goal in the 38th minute of the first half, scored a sharp right-footed shot in the 23rd minute of the second half. Captain Son Heung-min (Tottenham) was eliminated due to a hamstring injury and Hwang Hee-chan (Wolverhampton) was away due to an injury in the middle of the first half, contributing to the victory with his trademark daredevilness and bold shooting.
It took a long time, as Oh Hyun-kyu said, to make his A-match debut and score a Masugul goal. Oh Hyun-kyu made his A-team debut in a friendly match against Iceland in November 2022 while playing for Suwon Samsung, and did not have a goal when he was involved in Celtic (2023-2024). He has not scored a goal in 11 A matches in two years. In a friendly match against Uruguay in March last year, Lee Kang-in’s cross was scored with a right-footed turning shot in the 39th minute of the second half, but the VAR result made the score invalid, swallowing regret. Since the Qatar Asian Cup, it has not been re-signed to the national team for nearly eight months until the A-match day in October, he may have been increasingly anxious.
It was none other than captain Son Heung-min who gave Oh the impetus to stay strong against Jordan. After starting in the match against Uruguay in June last year, he was substituted in the 17th minute of the second half without earning any income, and he said to Oh, “Don’t be disappointed, okay? That’s how you learn. We have more important games to play.” After finishing the Qatar World Cup, Son said he would be most grateful for Oh. “I sacrificed myself because of (Hyun-kyu) me,” to Oh, who was selected as a standby team in the aftermath of his orbital fracture and watched all four matches of the round of 16. Even though he was a young player, he knew exactly what this team needed and stuck to his role. He was not included in the final list, but he played the most important role among the players I played in this World Cup 메이저사이트. I want to thank him so much.”
Oh Hyun-kyu worked tirelessly to meet his senior’s expectations. When he showed no signs of being given a chance to play at Celtic, he boldly moved to Genk, Belgium, in July. The transfer was an excellent decision. Oh Hyun-kyu, who boosted his performance with steady opportunities to play, scored his debut goal in Belgium against Denderer last month and shot multiple goals against Mechelen in five days, boosting his momentum to the fullest. Through this performance, Oh Hyun-kyu, who re-elected to the national team for the first time in eight months, scored a goal 17 minutes after the substitution was introduced, and clearly struck the net with A national team coach Hong Myung-bo and soccer fans.
Oh Hyun-kyu’s scoring process was reminiscent of Hwang Ui-jo (Alanyaspor), the former main striker. Oh boldly attempted a mid-range shot twice before scoring a goal after receiving a pass from Bae Jun-ho during a counterattack. Rather than giving up a pass stably to his teammates around him, he boldly tapped on the goal as a striker. Oh was the first striker in a bold and hot style since Hwang’s activities were temporarily suspended due to personal issues. Looking back on the scoring scenes, it was similar to how Hwang would often show off his peak performance. The two strikers, Joo Min-kyu and Oh Se-hoon (Machida), were specialized in movements inside the opponent’s penalty box. They played the role expected from “left striker” Son Heung-min and Hwang Hee-chan (Swansea City).
Oh Hyun-kyu’s debut goal was also Son Heung-min. “He (Son) Heung-min is a big presence to the players whether he is in the national team or not. He said a lot of good things in the group chat room, so I was able to play with confidence.” In the past year since October 2023, Korea has won only two games, one against Iraq (1-0 win) and the other against Jordan, in January, when Son and Lee Kang-in (Paris Saint-Germain) failed to score goals at the same time. Lee Jae-sung scored the winning goal in both games, and Oh Hyun-kyu added one goal. “I’m looking forward to it and I think it will be fun,” Oh said, targeting the Iraqi goal on the 15th.
