SEOUL — Cho Wi-je was playing in South Korea’s second division a year ago. Now he is heading to the World Cup after being called up as a late injury replacement.
The 24-year-old defender has been drafted into South Korea’s squad after Cho Yu-min was ruled out with a foot injury following the 5-0 friendly win over Trinidad and Tobago on Saturday.
Cho Wi-je was already with the squad as a training partner and now he is in contention to play against South Korea’s Group A opponents South Africa, the Czech Republic and co-hosts Mexico.
After turning out for Busan IPark in K League 2 until January this year, he was still trying to make sense of his rapid rise when he spoke to reporters on Monday according to AFP.
“If someone told me last year that I would be going to the World Cup in 2026, I would never have believed that,” he said at the team’s training camp in Utah.
“This feels like a dream.” Cho joined South Korean champions Jeonbuk at the start of the year and impressed in his first taste of top-flight football.
He is now with the national team alongside Bayern Munich’s Kim Min-jae, the central defender who has played at Europe’s top level for years and has almost 80 caps for his country.
“He has so much experience battling top European players and I want to pick his brain about that,” Cho said.
“Min-jae is so much quicker than most players, and I have to be quicker on my feet to get to that level.”
Cho got his chance after Cho Yu-min’s World Cup dream ended less than two weeks before their World Cup opener against the Czechs on 11 June.
“Yu-min played such an important role in helping us qualify for the World Cup, and it was really tough to see him leave,” said Cho.
“To fill his void, I just have to perform as well as I can.”
