Wolves' Hwang ready to take on strike role for South Korea
Nov 9 (Reuters) - Wolverhampton Wanderers' forward Hwang Hee-chan said he is ready to fill the void left by injured striker Hwang Ui-jo when South Korea face the United Arab Emirates and Iraq in Asia's World Cup qualifiers.
With the Koreans looking to keep the heat on Group A leaders Iran, Bordeaux forward Hwang Ui-jo was forced to pull out of Paulo Bento's squad due to a hamstring injury.
"It's a shame Ui-jo can't be with us this time. He's done so much for us," Yonhap quoted Hwang as saying.
"Whether it will be on the wings or up the middle, I'll be ready to jump in and put on the best performance possible for our fans.
"We have a lot of great players on this team and we'll be prepared for these matches."
South Korea, who have played at every World Cup since 1986, trail Iran by two points in their six-team group, with only the top two guaranteed to progress to the 2022 finals in Qatar.
They host the UAE in Goyang on Thursday, when fans will be permitted into the stadium for the first qualifier since the start of the pandemic, before travelling to Doha to meet Iraq five days later.
"I've talked to my team mates already about finally playing in front of fans," Hwang said.
"We're all extra motivated to do well for them. We'll try to put on an entertaining show for our supporters." (Reporting by Michael Church in Hong Kong, Editing by Peter Rutherford)
