World Cup Roster

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The roster has been announced for footballers who are taking part in warm-up matches in Europe. The list includes ace players who will compete in this year's FIFA World Cup in Russia. There are also some changes to the defense. Take a look.

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Football coach Shin Tae-yong has hinted that the roster of players taking part in tune-up matches in Europe later this month is very close to the final list of athletes who will compete in the FIFA World Cup in Russia this year.

[Soundbite] Shin Tae-yong(National Soccer Team Coach) : "The squad for the FIFA World Cup in Russia is over 80% complete."

The final World Cup entry will be announced in May and the coach is set to fill in the remaining 20% of the roster after observing the two warm-up matches scheduled this month. This is why coach Shin has brought back in Hong Jeong-ho and Park Joo-ho for the first time in ten months. Park can run with Ki Sung-yueng as a midfielder pair. He can also handle wing defense and be used in many ways so the coach has decided to test him one last time. The coach has particularly given much thought to the position of defense. The current roster includes five defenders from the K-league team Jeonbuk Hyundai Motors FC alone including Kim Min-jae, Kim Jin-su, Choi Chul-soon and Lee Yong. The strategy is to maximize effects of a well organized defense.

[Soundbite] Shin Tae-yong(National Soccer Team Coach) : "With few solutions, I agonized over the defense lineup and concluded that better defense organization would be the first priority."

The friendly matches in Europe will serve to complete the remaining 20% of the final World Cup entry. The Korean soccer team will be summoned Monday and immediately depart for Ireland.