SEOUL, South Korea (AP) — Tottenham Hotspur forward Son Heung-min will lead South Korea at home against Uruguay in a friendly on Oct. 12, and again against Panama on Oct. 16.
Son was one of eight European-based players named to a 25-man team on Monday by coach Paulo Bento. Portuguese Bento was named national team coach in August.
Bento also handed France-based striker Suk Hyun-jun a recall after two years off the national team. Suk would replace injured Ji Dong-won of German club FC Augsburg.
Despite speculation in the local media, there was no place for young players such as Lee Kang-in of Valencia and Bayern Munich's Jeong Woo-yeong. Bento said the door was open as he focuses on the 2019 Asian Cup.
"They are certainly the players that we have to watch," Bento said. "But we have an important tournament in January, so I thought we should focus on that."
South Korea is grouped with China, the Philippines and Kyrgyzstan at the Asian Cup that kicks off in the United Arab Emirates on Jan. 5.
