S. Korea name 10 Cup veterans

Ahn, 30, rose to stardom at the 2002 World Cup, co-hosted by South Korea and Japan, with his dramatic golden goal that sent fancied Italy home after the second round. “We have a very balanced squad and a squad that can surprise a lot of people in the world,” Dutch-born Advocaat said at the squad announcement.

Advocaat included 13 players who will make their first appearance at the sport’s showpiece contest, scheduled for June 9-July 9 in Germany. One surprise inclusion was defender Song Chong-gug, who plays for the domestic K-League’s Suwon Samsung.

Song, 27, was a member of the country’s 2002 squad, impressing fans with his strong defence against Portugal’s Luis Figo. But successive injuries left him off the squad since Advocaat took it over last September.

Compared with 2002, Advocaat said the biggest advantage now is that the squad has more players who experienced World Cup finals and foreign leagues. “We showed in the past that we can do something,” he said.

South Korea stunned the world in 2002 with their amazing run to the semi-finals, beating Portugal, Italy and Spain on the way. It was the first time an Asian squad made it so far since North Korea reached the quarter finals in England in 1966.

The South Korean squad, ranked 30th by FIFA, will play France, Switzerland and Togo in group G.

In the run-up to the finals, the Koreans will play four warm-ups against Senegal, Bosnia-Herzegovina, Norway and Ghana.