"The Regret of the World Cup... I Will Wash It Away with a Gold Medal Like Hyung Son Heung-min"

[Anchor]

Eom Ji-sung, who drew attention with his bold performance at the North and Central America World Cup, is back on the field, overcoming his disappointment. Selected as a "wild card" for the Asian Games, he has pledged to win a gold medal, just like his role model, Son Heung-min.

Reporter Pyeon Gwanghyeon met with him.

[Reporter]

Born in 2002, Eom Ji-sung has long followed the path of his role model, Son Heung-min.

He made a name for himself by leading his team to the quarterfinals of the U-17 World Cup, and at age 22, he advanced to the European stage, continuing his growth while performing the "camera celebration" just like Son.

That is why his first-ever World Cup, spent alongside captain Son Heung-min, was a dream come true.

[Eom Ji-sung/National Football Team Midfielder: I stuck by Heung-min hyung for a long time and followed him around. I wondered how I should train and what mindset I should have to become like him. I realized that he didn't become the top scorer for no reason.]

Although he played for a total of only 52 minutes in the World Cup, he caught the eye by fearlessly breaking through the opponent's flanks and delivering sharp crosses.

[Eom Ji-sung/National Football Team Midfielder: I think I played to the best of my ability, so I have no regrets.]

The journey, which ended in the group stage, leaves a lingering sense of regret.

While he stated that rumors of internal team conflict were not true, he feels a heavy sense of responsibility for the results.

[Eom Ji-sung/National Football Team Midfielder: My heart still feels heavy. I know very well how big the stage of the World Cup is and how much it means to the fans in South Korea...]

He is determined to shake off the disappointment of the World Cup at the Asian Games, where he has been selected as a wild card.

Just as Son Heung-min did, he pledged to share his World Cup experience as a senior player and lead the team to a fourth consecutive gold medal.

[Eom Ji-sung/National Football Team Midfielder: I think my (World Cup) experience will be very helpful when I go to the Asian Games. Since I will be one of the senior players there, I will prepare even harder to bring joy and emotion to the fans, and I will create many good opportunities, so I ask for your continued support.]

(Video reporting: Park Jin-ho, Video editing: Ha Seong-won, Design: Jo Su-in)
※ Please note: This article was translated by AI and may contain errors.