Tottenham and QPR 'historical Korean prospect' takes next step towards prophecy with international debut
The Tottenham Hotspur youngster earned his first senior minutes for the South Korea national team this week.
Tottenham Hotspur teenager Yang Min-hyeok made his senior debut for the South Korea national team in a 1-1 draw with Jordan on Tuesday.
The 18-year-old earned his second call up for the March international break but was again an unused substitute in the 1-1 draw with Oman last week. An injury to Paris Saint-Germain star Lee Kang-in had boosted his odds of minutes against Jordan and he was used off the bench by head coach Hong Myung-bo.
The winger, who is currently on loan at QPR until the end of the season, replaced Lee Dong-gyeong early in the first half but couldn’t help inspire South Korea to find a winner against Jordan. Speaking after his debut, Yang said: “It was an honour to represent my country. The atmosphere was incredible—it gave me goosebumps to see so many fans come out. I tried to enjoy it as much as I could, and I had fun out there."
Spurs congratulate QPR loan star
In a message of congratulations, the official Tottenham Hotspur social media account on X wrote: “ Yang Min-Hyeok has made his senior international debut for South Korea Congratulations, Yang!”
It’s the latest landmark moment for the forward, who arrived in London in January with plenty of hype. Spurs struck a K-League record £3.3 million agreement with Gangwon FC last summer but the rising star stayed on in his home country of South Korea to complete the K-League season.
Yang won the Young Player of the Year award in the K-League in 2024, helping a formerly relegation-threatened Gangwon to a historical second-place finish with 12 goals. Speaking about the player’s reputation back home, Korean football expert Joel Kim labelled Yang as a ‘historical Korean prospect’.
Discussing his qualities on the pitch with LondonWorld, he said: “He’s a winger. He’s explosive and fast. He’s very technically gifted and agile. He’s strong too, that really impressed me in the K-League.
“When he debuted as a 17-year-old he wasn’t getting knocked off the ball and it’s a very physical league. People underrate his strength, he’s well-built for his age. He’s the kind of player who, when he has the ball, you hold your breath as he can make anything happen.”
Yang plays alongside Son Heung-min as South Korea draw
Yang played alongside Spurs teammate Son Heung-min in the draw with Jordan. South Korea opened the scoring through FSV Mainz 05 man Jae-sung Lee early on with Son providing the assist for that goal.
South Korea could have secured an early qualification for the 2026 World Cup with a win against Jordan but passed up on their chance to do so. The nation remains top of the group and will play Iraq and Kuwait in June.
Speaking about Yang’s potential, Joel Kim added: “We want him to be the best he can be and to take Korean football to another level, he’s the youngest player to have been recruited by a Premier League club.
“He’s going to break those records being so young and already making an impact. We are hoping that Son Heung-Min’s ceiling will be Yang’s floor, if he can take Korean football to another level. We’re seeing some promising signs of that for sure, especially with his adjustment to the Championship. We have hopes but it’s too soon to say he’ll be the next Son Heung-min or the next legend. Only time will tell.”
In other news, LondonWorld has your latest Tottenham Hotspur injury news and return dates ahead of Chelsea.