Jens Castrop

Jens Castrop is a central midfielder named in Hong Myung-bo's final 26-man Korea Republic squad for the 2026 World Cup. Born in Düsseldorf to a German father and a South Korean mother, he switched his international allegiance to Korea Republic in a change FIFA approved on 11 August 2025. He is 22 at kick-off, plays his club football for Borussia Mönchengladbach, and was named in the official 26-man squad announced on 16 May 2026.

Korea Republic face Czech Republic, Mexico and South Africa in Group A, opening against the Czech Republic at Estadio Akron in Zapopan on 11 June. Hong Myung-bo's side qualified by winning their AFC third-round group on 5 June 2025, and Castrop is one of the players he named in that confirmed 26-man squad.

Castrop is a central midfielder who can also play as a wing-back, the roles he fills for Borussia Mönchengladbach. That is the profile Hong Myung-bo named in Korea Republic's 26-man squad for the 2026 World Cup.

At 22, his Korea Republic career has only just begun: he made his senior debut as a substitute against the United States on 6 September 2025, the first of the one cap he has won so far.

Jens Castrop gives Korea Republic a young midfield option in their Goal Rush squad: a 22-year-old central midfielder who can also play as a wing-back, with his club football at Borussia Mönchengladbach. That midfield-and-wing-back flexibility is the contribution he offers the team pick. Korea Republic's £10m place sits in Tier 4, a low-band call within the game's £200m card budget, and the Group A draw sets the early fixtures for that pick.