The final 26-man roster for the 2026 FIFA World Cup in North America will be announced on May 16. Following the announcement, the national team will depart for their pre-camp in Salt Lake City, USA, on May 18. On June 5, the squad will move to Guadalajara, Mexico, for a week of preparation before facing the Czech Republic in their group stage opener on June 12.

The expanded 26-man squad, first introduced for the 2022 Qatar World Cup, remains in effect for the upcoming tournament. This analysis continues to predict the squad composition by position: Part 1 focused on goalkeepers, Part 2 on center-backs, and this Part 3 covers wingbacks. Subsequent parts will address central midfielders, wingers, and strikers.

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Lee Tae-seok, Seol Young-woo, and Kim Moon-hwan appear to be locks for the Mexico trip, provided they avoid injury. Under head coach Hong Myung-bo’s likely 3-4-3 formation, these three are regular call-ups. Lee Tae-seok (Austria Wien) has significantly improved his physicality and one-on-one defending since moving from Pohang to Austria. When Seol Young-woo (Crvena Zvezda) shifts to the right, Lee is the most dangerous left-wingback option for the national team.

Seol Young-woo is a versatile player who can operate on both flanks for his club. Hong Myung-bo, who coached him at Ulsan, knows his capabilities well. Seol can be deployed as a dedicated marker against dangerous wingers on either side, or given an inverted role to drift inside from the left and contribute to build-up play.

Kim Moon-hwan (Daejeon) brings the “Qatar World Cup experience” that the other two lack. While Lee Tae-seok excels at explosive overlapping runs and Seol Young-woo offers multi-positional ability, Kim’s strength lies in defensive stability based on relentless work rate.

With each player offering distinct qualities, the coaching staff is expected to select the two starters based on the opponent’s characteristics. In both the successful September 2024 match against the USA and the most recent game against Austria in March 2025, Lee and Seol formed the wingback pair, giving them a slight edge over Kim in the starting lineup race.

Wingbacks who can double as wingers are highly valued, but how many will make the cut?

In football, it’s common for attackers to transition into defenders, particularly when wingers shift to wingback. While rare cases like Gareth Bale exist, it’s more frequent for wide attackers struggling for starting spots to convert to wingback under tactical instructions. Therefore, including attackers in the wingback pool is not unusual.

Among specialist full-backs, Lee Myung-jae (Daejeon), who played under Hong at Ulsan and now partners Kim Moon-hwan on the left, is next in line after the top three. However, there is a possibility that natural wingers like Yang Hyun-joon (Celtic) and Eom Ji-sung (Swansea City), who can also play wingback, might be selected to strengthen both positions. Lee Myung-jae was omitted from the March 2025 international window, while Yang and Eom were called up instead.

Jens Castrop (Borussia Mönchengladbach), likely to be named as a midfielder but deployed as a wingback for his club recently, could also feature in that role.

Between Yang Hyun-joon and Eom Ji-sung, Yang holds a slight advantage due to his current season performances, switching between winger and wingback for Celtic. Jeong Sang-bin (St. Louis City), who can also play both roles and was called up for the September 2024 USA trip, remains a dark horse.

Other full-back and wingback options include Kim Jin-su (FC Seoul) and Hwang Jae-won (Daegu FC), both performing well in K League 1 but not recently called up.

Based on the 2022 Qatar World Cup, where five full-backs were selected, this tournament is expected to feature five wingback spots. Currently, Lee Tae-seok, Seol Young-woo, and Kim Moon-hwan are the safest picks, followed by Lee Myung-jae and then Yang Hyun-joon.

Predicted Wingback Selection for the World Cup: Lee Tae-seok (starter), Seol Young-woo (starter), Kim Moon-hwan, Lee Myung-jae, Yang Hyun-joon