Klinsmann clings to his guns following a string of victories in October.

The Korean national team poses for a photo before a friendly against Tunisia at Seoul World Cup Stadium in western Seoul on Oct. 13. [YONHAP]

Korean national team manager Jurgen Klinsmann called up 23 players Monday for the second round of the 2026 FIFA World Cup qualification, which begins next week.

The squad includes Europe-based players Son Heung-min of Tottenham Hotspur, Kim Min-jae of Bayern Munich and Lee Kang-in of Paris Saint-Germain, along with Hwang Hee-chan of Wolverhampton Wanderers, Lee Jae-sung of Mainz and Cho Gue-sung of FC Midtjylland. All of them played the October friendlies during which Korea managed two wins against Tunisia and Vietnam.

Lee Kang-in scored a brace in the Tunisia game and notched another in the Vietnam match where Kim, Hwang and Son joined him on the scoresheet.

Regular picks from the K League such as Moon Seon-min and Kim Jin-su of Jeonbuk Hyundai Motors, Jung Seung-hyun and Kim Tae-hwan of Ulsan Hyundai, Lee Ki-je of the Suwon Samsung Bluewings and Lee Soon-min of Gwangju FC are also staying with Klinsmann.

Just one player was not on last month’s roster: goalkeeper Song Bum-keun of Shonan Bellmare. He returns to the team for the first time in five months, and he was recovering from an ankle injury.

Joining Song are two regular goalkeeper picks, Kim Seung-gyu of Al Shabab and Jo Hyeon-woo of Ulsan.

Alongside defenders Jung, Lee Ki-je, Kim Tae-hwan, Kim Min-jae and Kim Jin-su, veteran player Kim Young-gwon has also been called up for the team.

The midfielders joining Son, Lee Kang-in, Lee Jae-sung, Lee Soon-min, Moon and Hwang Hee-chan are Park Yong-woo of Al Ain FC, Hwang In-beom of FK Crvena Zvezda, Hong Hyun-seok of KAA Gent and Jeong Woo-yeong of VfB Stuttgart.

The three forwards — Cho, Hwang Ui-jo of Norwich City and Oh Hyeon-gyu of Celtic — that were on the roster for the October friendlies are, you guessed it, back, too.

Klinsmann’s call to keep thing mostly the same is likely because his regular picks displayed a convincing performance last month when they secured the German coach his two biggest wins yet.

Since Klinsmann took the helm in February, the team stayed winless for its first five games and secured a 1-0 win against Saudi Arabia on Sept. 12 before beating Tunisia 4-0 and Vietnam 6-0 in October.

The upcoming World Cup qualifiers will be crucial for Klinsmann, as disappointing results could lead Korean fans to demand his removal.

Korean football fans criticized Klinsmann for lacking tactics during his first five games in charge, even though the team displayed marked improvements in overall cohesion during their October fixtures.

Klinsmann’s squad will start the World Cup qualification journey with a match against Singapore on Nov. 16.

U-23 manager Hwang Sun-hong also announced his roster on Monday, well ahead of a Nov. 20 friendly with the U-21 French national team in France.

The young squad includes a few players based overseas such as defender Kim Ji-soo of Brentford FC, midfielder Kwon Hyeok-kyu of Celtic and forward Jeong Sang-bin of Minnesota United.

The U-24 Korean national team poses for a photo after beating Kuwait 9-0 in an Asian Games Group E game against Kuwait at the Jinhua Sports Centre Stadium in Jinhua, China on Sept. 19. [NEWS1]

Hwang also called up a handful of players who are fresh off a gold-medal win at the Hangzhou Asian Games. Midfielders Goh Young-jun of the Pohang Steelers, Hwang Jae-won of Daegu FC and An Jae-jun of Bucheon FC 1995 and goalkeeper Kim Jeong-hoon of Jeonbuk Hyundai Motors are on Hwang’s November U-23 list.

FC Seoul’s Baek Jong-bum and Gimcheon Sangmu’s Shin Song-hoon complete the goalkeeper lineup.

The rest of the defenders joining Kim Ji-soo are Kim Sun-ho and Seo Myong-gwan of Bucheon, Kim Ju-hwan of Cheonan City, Byun Jun-soo of Daejeon Hana Citizen, Jang Si-young and Cho Hyun-taek of Ulsan Hyundai, Cho Sung-gwon of Gimpo FC and Cho Wi-je of Busan IPark

Over in the midfield, find Kang Seong-jin and Paik Sang-hoon of FC Seoul, Hong Yun-sang of the Steelers, Oh Jae-hyeok of Jeonbuk, Lee Kang-hee of Gyeongnam FC and Jeon Byung-kwan of Daejeon.

The only other forward joining the team is Heo Yool of Gwangju FC.

The young Taeguk Warriors will jet off to France on Nov. 13 and play a practice game against a pro French team on Nov. 17 ahead of the friendly with the U-21 French national team on Nov. 20.

The squad will then take part in the 2024 AFC U-23 Asian Cup in Qatar in April, which will also serve as a qualifier for the Paris Olympics.