Crystal Palace winger Lee Chung-Yong had his dreams of a third World Cup dashed on Saturday as he was one of three players cut as coach Shin Tae-Yong announced his final 23-man squad.
The Taeguk Warriors head to their Austrian training camp on Sunday without Lee as well as defenders Kwon Kyong-Won of Tianjin Quanjian in China and Kim Jin-Su of K-League champions Jeonbuk Motors.
Lee, a veteran of the 2010 and 2014 World Cups, barely featured for Palace in the 2017-18 English Premier League season and that lack of game time counted against the 29-year-old.
Kwon failed to get ahead of the other central defenders named in the 28-man preliminary squad in May while Kim has failed to recover from a knee injury sustained in a March friendly against Northern Ireland in Belfast.
Lee Keun-Ho and Kwon Chang-Hoon had already withdrawn from the initial roster due to injury.
That means good news for former Barcelona prodigy Lee Seung-Woo who made his debut in Monday's 2-0 win over Honduras and keeps his place in the squad, as do fellow rookies Oh Ban-Suk and Moon Seon-Min.
Korea, who lost 3-1 to Bosnia-Herzegovina on Friday in a farewell match to home fans in Jeonju, have two final warm-ups in Austria against Bolivia and Senegal.
The 2002 semifinalists are in Group F and kick off against Sweden on June 18 before taking on Mexico and defending champions Germany.
2018 러시아 월드컵으로 향하는
— 대한축구협회(KFA) (@theKFA) June 2, 2018
대한민국 축구 국가대표팀의
최종 23명 명단을 발표합니다!
이제 시작입니다
모두 하나되어 대한민국 선수들에게 승리의 함성을 외쳐주세요.
Korea National Football Team 23 Men's Squad for 2018 FIFA World Cup Russia #WetheReds pic.twitter.com/3UvnqddJfH
Squad
Goalkeepers: Kim Seung-Gyu (Vissel Kobe, Japan), Kim Jin-Hyeon (Cerezo Osaka, Japan), Cho Hyun-Woo (Daegu FC)
Defenders: Kim Young-Gwon (Guangzhou Evergrande, China), Jang Hyun-Soo (FC Tokyo, Japan), Jung Seung-Hyun (Sagan Tosu, Japan), Yun Yong-Sun (Seongnam FC), Oh Ban-Suk (Jeju United), Kim Min-Woo (Sangju Sangmu), Park Joo-Ho (Ulsan Hyundai), Hong Chul (Sangju Sangmu), Go Yo-Han (FC Seoul), Lee Yong (Jeonbuk Hyundai Motors)
Midfielders: Ki Sung-Yueng (Swansea City, England), Jung Woo-Young (Vissel Kobe, Japan), Ju Se-Jong (Asan Mugunghwa FC), Koo Ja-Cheol (FC Augsburg, Germany), Lee Jae-Sung (Jeonbuk Hyundai Motors), Lee Seung-Woo (Hellas Verona, Italy), Moon Seon-Min (Incheon United),
Forwards: Kim Shin-Wook (Jeonbuk Hyundai Motors), Son Heung-Min (Tottenham Hotspur, England), Hwang Hee-Chan (FC Red Bull Salzburg, Austria)