Kim Min-su was called up to the senior A national team for the first time after failing to make the final U-23 Asian Games squad.
Interim head coach Roberto Moreno cited recent performance as the primary criterion.
This call-up does not mean that Kim Min-su immediately made his debut; it means that he has entered the competition for a place in the national team.
3-Line Summary
1. Kim Min-su was included in his first senior A-national-team squad.
2. Coach Moreno placed importance on the most recent 10 matches.
3. A call-up and an A-match appearance must be distinguished.
The First Name in the 30-Man Squad Announced on the 14th
Kim Min-su was included in the 30-man South Korean national team squad announced on September 14. Kim Min-su, who plays for Scotland’s Rangers FC, was introduced as one of the players—along with Kim Geon-hee and Park Tae-jun—called up to the senior A national team for the first time in their careers.
This squad was the call-up list for the four-match A-match series in September and October. Therefore, inclusion in the squad is a confirmed fact showing that he received an opportunity to compete in national-team training and match appearances. Whether he actually appeared in an A match or made his debut was not determined by this announcement alone.
KBS presented Kim Min-su as a new face among the overseas-based players, while MoneyToday reported that he was called up to the senior A national team without a record of appearing in an official match for an age-group national team. However, he had participated in U-23 national-team training and a practice match in March.
A Different Choice from the Asian Games Squad
Kim Min-su was not included in the final U-23 squad for the 2026 Aichi-Nagoya Asian Games. The key point in this news is that he was included in the senior A-national-team squad during the same period.
It is difficult to interpret the choices made for the two national teams simply in terms of superiority or inferiority. The Asian Games team and the senior A national team were operated with separate squads, and Coach Moreno explained that he examined the recent performances of the players he selected. According to KBS’s report, he said that although he also considers career records, he places the greatest importance on the most recent 10 matches.
In Kim Min-su’s case, it is known that he developed in Spain, played for Girona FC and FC Andorra, and then transferred to Rangers. He is also regarded as capable of playing in several attacking positions, but what role he will take on with the national team will depend on the competition after the call-up and the coach’s choice.
“Current Performance” as the Call-Up Criterion
Coach Moreno said that what players show on the field, rather than their name value or past history, is the criterion for selection to the national team. An explanation also emerged that approximately 1,700 (1700) Korean players’ data had been analyzed.
This criterion is also an important starting point for Kim Min-su. That is because, more than the fact of his first call-up itself, his performance for his club and the role he demonstrates in national-team training could determine his subsequent competition. Being left out of the final Asian Games squad and receiving his first senior A-national-team call-up can be viewed not as contradictory results, but as an example of different national teams selecting players according to their own criteria.
References
Tags #KimMin-su #KimMin-suFootballer #SouthKoreanNationalTeam #ANationalTeam #RobertoMoreno #MorenoSide #RangersFC #ScottishFootball #KoreanFootball #NationalTeamCall-up #AsianGames #U23NationalTeam