Ulsan HD star Lee Myung-jae (31, Ulsan) has made a late international debut.
The team, coached by interim head coach Hwang Sun-hong, will take on the hosts Thailand at 9:30 p.m. ET on Saturday at Rajamangala Stadium in Bangkok, Thailand, in the fourth match of Group C of the 2026 North American Football Confederations Cup Asia Second Qualifying Round. In the first leg, South Korea failed to capitalize on Son Heung-min’s early goal to draw 1-1.
There was one player who made the game even more memorable. Lee Myung-jae made his international debut in the 28th minute of the second half, replacing Kim Jin-soo and playing 22 minutes. He may be a rookie for the national team, but he played like a veteran in the K League.
Lee Myung-jae gave his first interview with the national team ahead of training on the 24th. “It was my dream,” he said of his national debut at age 30. It was mainly because I didn’t give up until now. It was a short time, but it passed quickly. There were many regrets. It was definitely different from playing in the league,” he confessed.
With so many Ulsan players on the national team, the adjustment didn’t seem to be too difficult. “Coach Hong Myung-Bo told me to do well without saying anything, and (Kim) Young-Kwon and Cho Hyun-Woo were here, so they helped me adapt well,” Lee laughed.
In his debut, a ground ball cross to Cho Kyu-sung became a hot topic among soccer fans. Why did he give him the ball on his toes when he should have scored a header? There was a reason.
Lee said, “I’ve seen (Cho) play a lot in commercials. When I entered (the game), I said, ‘Let’s try to make a good match. When we got into the game, the opposing 토토 defense was blocking him a lot.
I wanted to take advantage of that and look at other players, so I tried (the ground ball cross),” he explained.
We’re going to have 50,000 people in the stadium against Thailand. It’s so intense that they can’t sell tickets. Lee Myung-jae, who will be playing his first international match away from home, said, “I saw Thai fans at the ACL, and I felt that the support culture is different from ours. We have to adapt well. Coach Hwang Sun-hong said it could be a difficult game, but we need to finish quickly and go home with a win. I have to do my part and then I will have another chance. I will do my best in the time I have and help the team.”