DOHA: South Korea veteran Lee Young-pyo has hinted he is ready to retire from international football after his side went out of the Asian Cup, but skipper Park Ji-sung remained tight-lipped about his future.
Bidding to reach a first Asian Cup final since 1988, South Korea fell 3-0 on penalties to arch-rivals Japan in Doha on Tuesday, after a pulsating game finished 2-2 following extra time.
The Taeguk Warriors will now meet Uzbekistan – thrashed 6-0 by Australia in the other semi-final – in Friday’s third-place play-off, when an automatic qualifying berth at the 2015 tournament in Australia will be at stake.
Young-pyo, formerly of PSV, Tottenham Hotspur and Borussia Dortmund, has 126 caps for South Korea but he suggested after the game that he is considering hanging up his boots.
“I will talk about it after the third-place game, but I’ve already made up my mind,” the 33-year-old Al Hilal left-back told reporters.
Ji-sung won his 100th cap in Tuesday’s game at the Al Gharafa Stadium and he hinted prior to the tournament that these would be his final appearances in a South Korea shirt.
The 29-year-old Manchester United star reiterated his intention to make an announcement on his international future at the end of the competition.
“I will talk about whether I will retire from the national team after the Asian Cup is over,” Ji-sung told Yonhap news agency.
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