Player Profile

Jong has been dubbed the ‘The Asian Wayne Rooney’ because of his powerful, bustling attacking style and his ability to bring others in to play. One goal from 12 qualifying games for South Africa was a disappointing return, although he scored twice in a friendly with Greece on 25 May.

His philosophy is simple. He says: “A striker should score every game” and “I will shoot and finish whenever I get a pass”. Whether the defences of Group G opponents Brazil, Ivory Coast and Portugal allow him any space to do that is another matter altogether.

He is one of only three players in the squad to play overseas and has been a regular scorer in the J-League for Kawasaki Frontale, scoring seven goals in 13 matches this season

Jong was in the unusual position of having the option of playing for three different countries. Born in Japan, but a South Korean citizen, he was raised through the North Korean education system in Japan and decided it was the North that he wanted to represent.

As a result, he battled hard to have his South Korean citizenship revoked, but found it rejected by the South as they do not recognise the North as a country. He was once pictured on the front of Korea’s FourFourTwo magazine under the headline ‘I am not South Korean.’ Despite that, he is firmly behind South Korea’s bid for the 2022 World Cup.

“As a national team player of North Korea, I support the bid of South Korea for the 2022 World Cup. It may not be easy politically to be united, but sport can make people united and can contribute to world peace, peace in East Asia and peace on the Korean peninsula.”