While his Instagram account has gone from 20,000 followers to over two million, along with Son and Kang-in Lee, the Jeongbuk striker poses Brazil’s biggest threat in the round of 16.
He played 17 minutes against Uruguay in his World Cup debut with no shame or glory, but he left behind one detail, a goal in the twilight of the game that came very close to Rochet’s post that almost gave the South Koreans victory. Perhaps for that occasion, Paulo Bento decided to pit Gue-sung Cho (Ansan, 1998) against Ghana in the match of his explosion, the day his public life was turned upside down. With two aesthetic blows to the head, Jeongbuk’s striker tied the match in two minutes and although his team eventually lost to the Africans, Cho had just become one of the key players of the World Cup.
In two days, South Korea’s top scorer went from 20,000 followers on Instagram to more than two million. Twitter and TikTok are flooded with content about the beauty of the once-unknown battering ram; his smile is a trend and in his country he is already a mass phenomenon similar to K-Pop singers. In addition, as he himself admitted, he receives thousands of marriage proposals a day on his mobile phone. Even his club, Jeongbuk, takes advantage of the attraction to exploit his footballer’s image in networks. A star is born.
This 24-year-old striker started his career with Anyang of the South Korean second division (a club he played for in youth) but soon, in 2020, one of the best teams in K League 1 like Jeongbuk saw his talent. However, this team was not the motive to represent his country: In 2021, due to compulsory military service in South Korea, Gue-sung Cho was transferred to Gimcheon Sangmu, an entity run by the Armed Forces of the Republic of Korea. There he stood out, caught the attention of coach Bento and became a regular in the call-ups for what is today one of the top 16 teams in the world. Likewise, upon his return to Jeongbuk, he became the top scorer in K League 1 and European football seems a logical consequence of this new reference in the near future.
Against Portugal, in the match that saw the South Koreans qualify for the round of 16 of a World Cup for the second time in their history with an unlikely victory, Gue-sung Cho was magnificent. He didn’t see the goal, but he gave vent to his team’s football with his play from behind and his control of the air ball. He even despaired Cristiano Ronaldo in a dialectical battle that led to the replacement of the Portuguese, a man who can easily be pushed to the limit.
For those of Bento, reaching the eighth finals is already a resounding success. Brazil awaits tonight (8 p.m., World Cup goal) and there are few options to beat one of this World Cup’s biggest favorites, who also recovers Neymar for the knockout stage. But alongside Tottenham great footballer Heung-min Son and Majorcan player Kang-in Lee, Gue-sung Cho is the five-time champion’s main threat on his way to the quarter-finals.
Source: La Verdad
I am Shawn Partain, a journalist and content creator working for the Today Times Live. I specialize in sports journalism, writing articles that cover major sporting events and news stories. With a passion for storytelling and an eye for detail, I strive to be accurate and insightful in my work.
