Yun Il-lok in search of opportunity

Yun has enjoyed a rapid rise over the last year as the 21-year-old helped FC Seoul reach final of the AFC Champions League final, while also making his Korea debut by starting all three games for Korea at the EAFF East Asian Cup and scoring against eventual winners Japan.

And having also featured in friendlies against Switzerland and Russia at the end of last year, Yun has his sights set on remaining in the squad for Brazil with Korea drawn to face Belgium, Algeria and Russia in the group stage later this year.

“In 2014 there are so many competitions including the FIFA World Cup and Asian Games and I must show to the coach Hong Myung-bo that I can perform well. This is why it is also important to also play well at the AFC U-22 Championship,” said Yun, who only joined FC Seoul from Gyeongnam FC at the start of last year.

“I was with the national team last year, but this year I don’t think I have a lot of time to show to the coach how I can play so this tournament is a special chance to be selected for the national team.”

Yun, who previously represented the Taeguk Warriors at both the 2009 FIFA U-17 World Cup and 2011 FIFA U-20 World Cup, played the full game as Korea began their AFC U-22 Championship campaign with a disappointing 1-1 draw with Jordan on Saturday.

But with Lee Kwang-jong’s side set to continue their campaign against Myanmar on Monday, Yun is hopeful of claiming a first three points in Group A at Royal Oman Police Stadium.

Oman currently top the Group A table after beating Myanmar 4-0 on Saturday, with the tournament’s hosts set to entertain Jordan at Sultan Qaboos Sports Complex on Monday evening.

“I was a little bit disappointed for the team after the first game as a lot of the players felt nervous so they didn’t play as we expected we would play,” added Yun.

“But we expect the second game to be much better.”