Celtic winger Yang Hyun-jun lauded for mentorship in S. Korea's run to men's football gold

South Korea’s men’s football team won gold at the Aichi-Nagoya Asian Games in Toyota, Japan, with coach Lee Min-sung praising Celtic winger Yang Hyun-jun for his behind-the-scenes role. Yang played only once because of a hamstring injury, but Lee said his support helped the team, while Yang said he tried to steady younger teammates such as roommate Yang Min-hyeok. Yang Min-hyeok helped set up the winning goal in the 1-0 final against Japan.

Yang Hyun-jun recorded one assist in South Korea’s 4-1 group-stage win over Qatar on Sept. 15 before aggravating a hamstring injury.

South Korea beat Japan 1-0 in the final at Toyota Stadium, about 30 kilometers east of Nagoya, to win the gold medal.

Eom Ji-sung led the tournament with four goals and four assists and scored the only goal in the final.

Yang Min-hyeok, who is 20 and was the team’s second-youngest player, assisted the winning goal after driving down the right flank and crossing toward the goalmouth.

Yang Hyun-jun said he and other Europe-based players joined the squad late and that he tried to bring the team together off the field, including by buying coffee whenever he could.

Published Oct 4, 2026 9:16 am KST

Yang Hyun-jun of South Korea, center, attempts a pass against Qatar during the teams' Group D match of the men's football tournament at the Asian Games at Nagoya City Mizuho Park Rugby Field in Nagoya, Japan, Sept. 15, 2026. Yonhap

TOYOTA, Japan —When asked to pick his personal MVP for South Korea in their run to the men's football gold medal at the Aichi-Nagoya Asian Games on Saturday, head coach Lee Min-sung chose a player who did not even take the field in the final.

"Everyone has been great but if I had to pick one player, it would have to be Yang Hyun-jun," Lee said of the Celtic FC winger who was limited to only one match for South Korea due to injury. "Although he only played in one match here, he sacrificed himself so much behind the scenes," Lee said. "I think it helped the guys on the pitch a great deal."

Yang, 24, recorded an assist during South Korea's 4-1 victory over Qatar in their first group stage match on Sept. 15. But he aggravated his hamstring injury then and went on to miss the next four matches for Lee's side.

And it was curious for the coach to single out Yang as his best player, when another attacker Eom Ji-sung of Swansea City led the tournament with four goals and four assists and scored the lone goal in South Korea's 1-0 win over Japan in the final at Toyota Stadium in Toyota, some 30 kilometers east of Nagoya.

When informed of the coach's remarks, Yang said Lee might have given him credit for being a mentor for younger teammates, such as his roommate Yang Min-hyeok.

The Asian Games men's football tournament is for players under the age of 23, with each nation allowed to select a maximum three players over that limit. Yang Hyun-jun was one of those over-age players, while Yang Min-hyeok, at 20, was the team's second-youngest player.

The younger Yang arrived in Japan with his confidence running low, the older Yang said, because he had not established himself with his Belgian club, Westerlo, despite some hype around his potential. Yang Min-hyeok signed with Tottenham Hotspur as a teenager in July 2024 but has yet to play with the Premier League club, having instead had loan spells with four different teams.

"Min-hyeok was going through a difficult time, and when he was thrust into action after I got hurt, he was putting a lot of pressure on himself," Yang Hyun-jun said. "I tried to do whatever I could to help him stay focused on the match at hand and not worry about anything else, and I think the coach acknowledged that."

Yang Hyun-jun said the players had been assigned roommates prior to the tournament, but once the team traveled to Toyota earlier in the week for Saturday's final, the players were free to choose their new roommate. Hyun-jun chose Min-hyeok.

"I could see that he beat himself up for every mistake he made on the pitch, and I told him he did not have to be so hard on himself," Yang Hyun-jun said. "I reminded him that he just has to stay consistent. He is a smart guy and he understood everything. All I did was to tell him a few words."

Yang Min-hyeok played a key role in Saturday's victory, as he assisted Eom's winning goal. With some hard-nosed play, Yang stripped defender Mihiro Sato of the ball on the right flank and drove hard down the line before sending a cross toward the goalmouth. The ball went off the hand of the goalkeeper Rui Araki and found its way to Eom, who got a left-footed shot off as he fell to the pitch.

"I was so proud of him," Yang Hyun-jun said of his roommate. "He is a gifted player. I think he felt pressure to live up to expectations when Tottenham signed him early, but I think he was able to put those things out of his mind and stay locked in on the match in the final. I was so happy to see that."

Yang Hyun-jun said he knew after the first match that he would not be healthy enough to play the rest of the tournament. He tried to make up for his absence by acting as the proverbial glue guy.

"Since I could not help the team on the pitch, I tried to bring guys together off the field," he said. "Some of us playing in Europe joined the national team late, and there was some sense early on that we were not really together as a team. So I tried to talk to the guys about life outside football and get them on the same page."

Yang then added with a smile, "I bought them coffee whenever I could."

韩国男足在日本丰田举行的爱知-名古屋亚运会上夺得金牌。主教练李珉成称赞凯尔特人边锋杨贤俊在幕后发挥了重要作用。杨贤俊因腿筋受伤仅出场一次，但李珉成表示他的支持对球队帮助很大。杨贤俊也表示他努力帮助年轻队友，例如他的室友杨敏赫。杨敏赫在决赛中助攻队友打入制胜球，帮助韩国队1-0战胜日本队。

9月15日，在韩国4-1战胜卡塔尔的小组赛中，杨贤俊贡献了一次助攻，之后他的腿筋伤势加重。

在距离名古屋以东约 30 公里的丰田体育场举行的决赛中，韩国队以 1-0 击败日本队，赢得金牌。

严智星以4个进球和4次助攻领跑全场，并在决赛中打入唯一进球。

20岁的杨敏赫是队中第二年轻的球员，他从右路带球突破，传中至球门前，助攻队友打入制胜球。

杨贤俊表示，他和一些在欧洲效力的球员是后来才加入球队的，他努力在场下团结球队，包括尽可能地请大家喝咖啡。

发布于2026年10月4日上午9:16（韩国标准时间）

2026年9月15日，在日本名古屋市瑞穗公园橄榄球场举行的亚运会男足D组比赛中，韩国球员杨贤俊（中）试图传球对抗卡塔尔队。（韩联社）

日本丰田——周六，在爱知-名古屋亚运会男足比赛中，韩国队夺得金牌，主教练李珉成被问及他心目中的MVP是谁时，他选择的球员甚至没有在决赛中上场。

“大家都很棒，但如果非要选一个球员，那一定是杨贤俊，”李教练谈到这位凯尔特人边锋时说道。由于伤病，杨贤俊只代表韩国队出场过一场比赛。“虽然他只在这里踢了一场比赛，但他在幕后付出了很多，”李教练说。“我认为这对场上的队友帮助很大。”

24岁的杨在9月15日韩国队4-1战胜卡塔尔的首场小组赛中贡献了一次助攻。但他当时加重了腿筋伤势，并因此缺席了李宗伟执教的球队接下来的四场比赛。

令人费解的是，教练竟然将杨选为最佳球员，而另一位斯旺西城队的前锋严智成以四球四助攻领跑全场，并在决赛中韩国队在丰田体育场（位于名古屋以东约 30 公里处）以 1-0 战胜日本队的比赛中打入唯一进球。

得知教练的言论后，杨表示，李教练可能会因为他指导年轻队友（例如他的室友杨敏赫）而给予他肯定。

亚运会男子足球比赛的参赛球员年龄均在23岁以下，每个国家最多可以选拔三名超过23岁的球员。杨贤俊就是其中一名超龄球员，而20岁的杨敏赫则是队中第二年轻的球员。

据老杨透露，小杨刚到日本时信心不足，因为尽管他潜力无限，但并未在比利时俱乐部韦斯特洛站稳脚跟。杨珉赫于2024年7月以青少年球员身份签约托特纳姆热刺，但至今尚未代表这家英超俱乐部出场，而是先后被租借到四支不同的球队。

“闵赫当时正经历一段艰难时期，在我受伤后他临危受命，给自己施加了很大的压力，”杨贤俊说道。“我尽我所能帮助他专注于眼前的比赛，不要去想其他事情，我想教练也意识到了这一点。”

杨贤俊表示，球员们在比赛前就已经被分配了室友，但本周早些时候球队前往丰田参加周六的决赛后，球员们可以自由选择新的室友。贤俊选择了闵赫。

“我看得出来，他每次在场上犯错都会自责不已，我就告诉他不必对自己这么苛刻，”杨贤俊说道。“我提醒他，他只需要保持稳定发挥。他很聪明，什么都明白。我只是跟他说了几句话而已。”

杨敏赫在周六的胜利中发挥了关键作用，他助攻严宇打入制胜球。杨敏赫凭借强悍的拼抢，在右路断下后卫佐藤美弘的球，随后沿边路高速推进，送出一记传中。皮球从门将荒木瑠衣的指尖滑过，落到严宇脚下，后者在倒地前用左脚劲射破门。

“我为他感到无比骄傲，”杨贤俊谈到他的室友时说道。“他是一位天赋异禀的球员。我认为，当托特纳姆热刺早早签下他时，他感到压力巨大，必须达到人们的期望，但我认为他能够将这些压力抛诸脑后，在决赛中全神贯注于比赛。看到他做到这一点，我真的很高兴。”

杨贤俊表示，他在第一场比赛后就知道自己身体状况不足以参加剩余的比赛。他努力弥补自己的缺席，扮演了团队粘合剂的角色。

“既然我无法在场上帮助球队，我就努力在场下凝聚队友，”他说。“我们当中有些人之前在欧洲踢球，后来才加入国家队，所以一开始就感觉我们不像是一个真正的团队。因此，我试着和队友们聊聊足球之外的生活，让他们达成共识。”

杨笑着补充道：“我只要有时间就会给他们买咖啡。”