[Anchor]

Amidst a series of controversies, the roster for the men's national soccer team competing in the Asian Games, which kicks off this September, has been announced. While a record-high nine Europe-based players have been included, Jens Castrop, a World Cup squad member who had expressed a strong desire to participate, was excluded from the list, drawing attention to the reasons behind the decision.

Reporter Lee Jeong-Chan has the story.

[Reporter]

The Korea Football Association announced the 23-man roster for the Aichi-Nagoya Asian Games today (July 9).

The squad consists of 20 players under the age of 23, along with defenders Lee Ki-hyuk, Yang Hyun-jun, and Eom Ji-sung, who were selected as "wild cards" exempt from the age limit after their surprise performances at the World Cup.

A record-high nine players currently active in European leagues, including Bae Jun-ho, Kim Ji-soo, and Yang Min-hyeok, were included in the squad.

Normally, overseas clubs are not obligated to release players for the Asian Games. However, because the September A-match period, during which there are no league schedules, overlaps significantly with the Asian Games, European clubs have permitted their players to participate to help them resolve their military service obligations.

However, Jens Castrop, a former World Cup national team member who is currently a starter in the Bundesliga and falls within the under-23 age limit, was excluded, sparking interest.

A source familiar with the situation told SBS over the phone, "Before the World Cup, Asian Games national team head coach Lee Min-sung visited Germany and asked Jens to play an important role in the Asian Games. Jens was also preparing for the tournament with a sense of identity and pride as a Korean, so this is a disappointing result."

It is known that Jens had actually requested permission for his release from his club, Borussia Mönchengladbach.

Regarding this, a national team official told SBS, "It is true that we met with Jens and confirmed his willingness to participate," but added, "We regretfully decided to exclude him, considering factors such as the lack of time to build chemistry with the existing players and the potential difficulty in communication between Jens and the other players."

Jens, who was born in Germany and holds dual citizenship, is currently subject to restrictions on his stay and profit-making activities in Korea. He has missed this opportunity to receive military service benefits, which would have allowed him to work freely in Korea.

[Video Editing: Lee Hong-myung, Design: Choi Ha-neul, Jang Chae]