South Korea may be out of the 2022 FIFA World Cup after losing to Brazil 1-4 in this morning’s match, but if there’s one player’s name that will remain on everyone’s lips even after the whole tournament is over, it’s Cho Gue-sung. The 24-year-old South Korean footballer, also known as Player No. 9, stood out during the FIFA match of South Korea versus Uruguay, where he played in the forward position. Blessed with both good looks and talent, he dazzled the football fans — including the ladies — and quickly went viral on social media.
By the time he scored two goals in a matter of mere three minutes against Ghana on November 28, he had become a star, and was apparently flooded with so many marriage proposals after the match that he had to switch his phone off. His Instagram fan following has also catapulted from 48,000 to around 1.5 million since the FIFA World Cup 2022 began.
More about the viral sensation, Cho Gue-sung
Born on January 25 1998, Cho’s parents are former athletes. He currently plays for Jeonbuk Hyundai Motors after being a star player at Gwangju University. He is known to be a top goalscorer in the 2022 K League 1. Interestingly, he was not a striker at the University but played as a defensive midfielder there.
Cho Gue-sung’s fancam already has over 6M views lol pic.twitter.com/L4B2JI3Te1
— Hyunsu Yim (@hyunsuinseoul) November 28, 2022
For the uninitiated, Cho completed military service, stationed at the Korean armed forces sports division, Gimcheon Sangmu FC, as mandated by the South Korean government, in September 2022. Post which he joined the national team.
Cho Gue-sung: A classic underdog story for football fans
Surprisingly, Player No.9’s school coaches had their doubts about him and no one envisioned him being a national sensation one day. The reason was that his height was less as compared to his peers. During his teenage years, he also fought a lot of self-doubt and considered giving up his sporting career to go into civil service instead. Thankfully, he did not.
(Main and featured image: FIFA World/Instagram)
This story first appeared on Lifestyle Asia Singapore
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