When the World Cup started, South Korea’s choice of goalkeeper lay elsewhere. Jo Hyun-woo used this surprise opportunity to make a name for himself.

The South Korea manager Shin Tae-yong was very secretive regarding his team selections and tactics coming into the 2018 World Cup, doing absolutely everything in his power to ensure his tactical plans didn’t get out. He switched the squad numbers of his players around at every opportunity and was very unwilling to speak to the media. Prior to Korea’s Group F opener against Sweden Tae-yong even accused his opponents of spying on his training camp. The claims were quickly disregarded by most, but even if there had been spies, it is doubtful they would have made tactical adjustments based off one of the more surprising decisions – a change in keeper.

With an air of mystery hanging over the side, the manager clearly had one or two surprises that he was waiting to unleash on his country’s opponents. It was widely presumed that Premier League stars Ki Sung-yeung and Son Heung-min, as well as Europa League semi-finalist Hwang Hee-chan, would be involved, but there were definitely places up for grabs.

However, there hadn’t been much debate about who would be in goal for the Koreans, with most people expecting Kim Seung-gyu to be starting. The stopper who plays his football for Vissel Kobe in the top division of Japanese football, the J1 League, has 31 caps to his name, has won the Asian Champions League and played every minute of South Korea’s East Asian Cup victory in 2015. More recently he started 10 of the Taeguk Warriors’ World Cup qualification matches keeping seven clean sheets.