Asian Games gold medallist Jang added to Korea squad

SEOUL (Reuters) - South Korea's Asian Games-winning football captain Jang Hyun-soo was added to the country's full squad on Monday for their upcoming friendly matches against Paraguay and Costa Rica. The fixtures against the South Americans in Cheonan on Friday and World Cup quarter-finalists Costa Rica in Seoul the following Tuesday will be the first for new coach Uli Stielike. The former German international, who was appointed last month, had named a squad of 22 last week before adding Jang, Han Kyo-won of Jeonbuk Motors and Qatar-based forward Jo Yeong-cheol on Monday. The squad will meet up on Tuesday but will be without midfielder Koo Ja-cheol, who has a knee injury, while Kim Jin-su went back to German club Hoffenheim after helping the predominately under-23 side win gold in Incheon on Thursday. Central defender Jang, who plays his club football for Chinese Super League side Guangzhou R&F, joins forward Kim Seung-dae, goalkeeper Kim Seung-gyu and midfielder Park Joo-ho as Asian Games winners in Stielike's squad. South Korea have slumped to an all-time low 63rd in the FIFA rankings on the back of a dire World Cup campaign in Brazil, where they were knocked out in the group stage after only securing one point. Hong Myung-Bo stepped down in July after World Cup exit with a lengthy recruitment process resulting in Stielike's appointment just before last month's 3-1 win over Venezuela and 1-0 loss to Uruguay. The German's first major assignment will be January's Asian Cup in Australia, where the twice champion Koreans will attempt to win the title for the first time in 54 years. (Writing by Patrick Johnston in Singapore; Editing by John O'Brien)