Cho Wi-je was playing in South Korea's second division a year ago. Now he is heading to the World Cup after being called up as a late injury replacement.
The 24-year-old defender has been drafted into South Korea's squad after Cho Yu-min was ruled out with a foot injury following the 5-0 friendly win over Trinidad and Tobago on Saturday.
Cho Wi-je was already with the squad as a training partner and now he is in contention to play against South Korea's Group A opponents South Africa, the Czech Republic and co-hosts Mexico.
After turning out for Busan IPark in K League 2 until January this year, he was still trying to make sense of his rapid rise when he spoke to reporters on Monday.
"If someone told me last year that I would be going to the World Cup in 2026, I would never have believed that," he said at the team's training camp in Utah.
"This feels like a dream."
Cho joined South Korean champions Jeonbuk at the start of the year and impressed in his first taste of top-flight football.
He is now with the national team alongside Bayern Munich's Kim Min-jae, the central defender who has played at Europe's top level for years and has almost 80 caps for his country.
"He has so much experience battling top European players and I want to pick his brain about that," Cho said.
"Min-jae is so much quicker than most players, and I have to be quicker on my feet to get to that level."
Cho got his chance after Cho Yu-min's World Cup dream ended less than two weeks before their World Cup opener against the Czechs on June 11.
"Yu-min played such an important role in helping us qualify for the World Cup, and it was really tough to see him leave," said Cho.
"To fill his void I just have to perform as well as I can."
amk/pst
