SEOUL, South Korea -- Arsenal striker Park Chu-young is going to his third World Cup for South Korea despite concerns about his lack of game time in the Premier League. Hong Myung-bo picked Park among nine Europe-based players in the 23-man South Korea squad he announced Thursday. The South Korea coach unveiled a youthful and predictable squad -- with just one player, Kwak Tae-hwi, older than 30. The selection of Park has been a point of serious national debate in recent, weeks simply because the 28 year-old forward has played so little for Arsenal since his move to London in August 2011. A fine goal in his first national team appearance in a year against Greece in March helped him make the cut. "Among Korean forwards, I couldnt find another attacker to replace Park," Hong said. "I have thought long and hard about this selection and decided on the final list just last night." Other English Premier League players Ki Sung-yeung and Kim Bo-kyong were also selected. Park is likely to be the lone striker in Brazil with German-based Son Heung-min expected to appear on the left side of midfield. There are five survivors from the squad that reached the second round in South Africa 2010, a second ever appearance in the knockout stage in South Koreas eight World Cup appearances to date. Goalkeeper Jung Sung-ryung, Ki, Kim, Park and Bolton Wanderers midfielder Lee Chung-yong are hoping to at least repeat that feat in June. South Koreas best-ever World Cup performance was in 2002, when it cost-hosted the tournament with Japan and reached the semifinals under with Hong as captain. The 45-year-old Hong also coached South Koreas Under-23 team, containing many of the players in his current squad, to the bronze medal at the 2012 Olympics "Brazil is going to be the biggest challenge," said Hong, who took over as coach last July after Choi Kang-hee guided the team through an unimpressive qualification campaign. "But we go as one team to give the best performance that we can. We have a team with a lot of international experience and we have the players who can show what they can do at the highest level." Hong admitted that the position that gave him most problems was at left-back. Park Joo-ho of FC Mainz in Germany returned to South Korea early to try and recover from injury but ran out of time and has been replaced by QPRs Yun Suk-young. As Hong promised, there were few surprises in the squad. Pohang Steelers attacking midfielder Lee Myung-joo, perhaps the standout player of the 2014 K-League season, has been overlooked. Of the 20 outfield players in the squad, just three play in the domestic league. Hong said "Lee has been excellent for Pohang this season," but explained that he wanted more cover for defensive midfielders and took Park Jung-woo and Han Kook-young. The captain will be announced after the squad has gathered. After a training camp in Paju, the South Korea squad plays a friendly against Tunisia at home on May 28 before travelling to Miami for a pre-World Cup training camp that includes a warm-up game with Ghana on June 10. South Korea starts its Group H campaign against Russia on June 17 before taking on Algeria and Belgium. ------ Squad: Goalkeepers: Jung Sung-ryeong (Suwon Bluewings), Kim Seung-gyu (Ulsan Horang-i), Lee Bom-young (Busan IPark) Defenders: Kim Jin-soo (Albirex Niigata, Japan), Yun Suk-young (QPR, England), Kim Young-kwon (Guangzhou Evergrande, China), Hwang Seok-ho (Sanfrecce Hiroshima, Japan), Hong Jeong-ho (Augsburg, Germany), Kwak Tae-hwi (Al Hilal, Saudi Arabia), Lee Yong (Ulsan Horang-i), Kim Chang-soo (Kashiwa Reysol, Japan). Midfielders: Ki Seung-yeung (Sunderland, England), Ha Dae-sung (Beijing Guoan, China), Han Kook-young (Kashiwa Reysol, Japan), Park Jung-woo (Guangzhou R&F, China), Son Heung-min (Bayer Leverkusen, Germany), Kim Bo-kyoung (Cardiff City, Wales), Lee Chung-yong (Bolton Wanderers, England), Ji Dong-won (Augusburg, Germany). Forwards: Koo Ja-cheol (Mainz, Germany), Lee Keun-ho (Sangju Sangmu), Park Chu-young (Arsenal, England), Kim Shin-wook (Ulsan Horang-i). Terry Rozier Jersey . Completely. Two days after releasing Peyton Manning, the longtime face of the franchise, the Colts announced they were cutting four fan favourites: running back Joseph Addai, linebacker Gary Brackett, safety Melvin Bullitt and tight end Dallas Clark. Kevin Mchale Jersey . The last team in the NBA that will have any sympathy for the Thunder is the Minnesota Timberwolves, who are showing signs of putting everything together after two years of devastating injuries. http://www.celticssale.com/kids-robert-parish-celtics-jersey/ .com) - Coming off a pair of tough losses last week, the Syracuse Orange will try to put an end to their first losing skid of the season when they pay a visit to the Maryland Terrapins at the Comcast Center on Monday night in Atlantic Coast Conference action. Aron Baynes Jersey . -- Nick Bjugstad snapped out of his scoring slump and spoiled Drew MacIntyres first NHL start. Jayson Tatum Jersey . Hamilton signed offensive linemen Mike Filer, Joel Reinders, Landon Rice and Carson Rockhill. SONOMA, Calif. -- Tony Stewart was running lap times about a second faster than expected at Indianapolis Motor Speedway when a blown tire caused him to wreck this week in a Goodyear test. Goodyear officials said Stewarts accident 17 laps into Tuesdays 20-lap run was the only incident of the two-day test. The three-time NASCAR champion wasnt injured. "Our test speeds were extremely fast at Indianapolis," Greg Stucker, Goodyears director of racing, said in a statement Friday. "Tony was approaching the end of a very strong 20-lap run, with his lap times as much as a second faster than what has become the norm at Indianapolis at that point of a run. "It appears that increased, sustained speed over that run generated a significant amount of heat, which eventually caused the right-front to go down." Stewart wasnt upset with Goodyear over the incident, which he said "destroyed the car, so it was a good hit. "I am not really sure what the cause of it was, but thats part of tire testing," Stewart said. "Thats why you go to the test. Im sure theyll learn something from it and well go on." Joey Logano was one of six drivers at the test and said Stewart easily had the fastest car at Indy. Also at the test were Greg Biffle, Clint Bowyer, Kyle Busch and Ryan Newman, the defending race winner. Stewart, an Indiana native, has two BBrickyard victories and puts a huge emphasis on the July race.dddddddddddd Following Stewarts tire failure, Logano said Goodyear made adjustments "to figure out a way to knock some speed out of these race cars." Teams were given a different left side tire to use and will wait to see what Goodyear decides to bring for the race. "I know when we left they were going to go back and discuss where they wanted to be, but I think theyre going in the right direction on making sure they have the security in the tire, making sure its safe," Logano said. "Its definitely a very big challenge when you come to a race track and you go faster and youre already on edge. Youve got to come back with something thats even more durable and thats hard." Indianapolis has been a difficult track for Goodyear, and the tire brought to the 2008 race was not durable enough to make it more than a dozen or so laps. NASCAR was forced to call a caution roughly every 10 laps to force teams to change tires. "The thing about Indianapolis is the tough conditions the cars and the tires have to endure," Stucker said. "The surface is very abrasive, the long straightaways and short chutes are fast, cornering is tough with very little banking. Combine that with this new car package, and youve got conditions that put a lot of stress on the tires." ' ' '