In order to assist South Korea qualify for the Olympics, Bae Junho may have to miss action in Stoke City next month due to his call-up to the under-23 squad for a tournament this month.
The Stoke playmaker, 20, who assisted his nation in making it to the under-20 World Cup semifinals the previous year, has been called up for the first time at this age group. During the international break, he will travel to Saudi Arabia to compete in the West Asian under-23s Championship, which begins on March 20 versus Thailand. To determine the eight participating teams’ ranks, three games will be played each.
In April in Qatar, 16 teams will compete in the under-23 Asian Cup, which is the last round of qualifying for Paris 2024. This side is also aiming to qualify for the Olympics for the tenth time in a row. While the fourth-place team will play a play-off against the fourth-place team from the African qualifiers, the top three teams will go directly to Paris.
Group B opponents for South Korea are the United Arab Emirates, China, and Japan on April 16, 19, and 22. The knockout stages begin on May 3. Because of that, Junho can miss Stoke’s final three Championship games as they battle for their survival.
As an extra narrative to this story, a medal of any colour at the Olympics earns an exemption from the requirement for every South Korean male to undertake 20 months of military service, which has to start by the time they reach 28.
Coach Hwang Seon-hong said: “After completing training camp in Turkey early this year, I went to Europe and communicated with the clubs of overseas players. Although variables may arise due to team circumstances, we have basically received the teams’ permission for Yang Hyun-jun (Celtic), Bae Junho, and Kim Ji-soo (Brentford) to be selected for the Olympic qualifiers.”
Nonetheless, Stoke’s situation is still very much in limbo after a thrilling season.With nine games left, the team is only three points above the dotted line, but a victory over Preston on Saturday—when, given Junho’s popularity, at least South Korea flags were flying in the away end—lifted them out of the relegation zone.
When Junior Tchamadeu was called up to represent Cameroon at the African Cup of Nations in January, Stoke was supportive, even though he missed five games. However, Steven Schumacher would be reluctant to allow Junho to leave his starting lineup until his team had recovered.
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