Wolves attacker Hwang Hee-chan has suggested he has been boosted by his experience at the World Cup with South Korea.
The 26-year-old was a hero for his country in Qatar, scoring a winning goal against Portugal to set up a last 16 clash with Brazil.
Hwang scored in injury-time against Portugal, after coming on as a second-half substitute for his first minutes of the tournament.
Hwang had been unable to feature prior to that game due to a hamstring injury.
Korea would go on to lose that game 4-1 against Brazil. But Hwang was their best player, and came close to scoring again.
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It was fantastic to see Hwang really making a significant impact for his country.
He would no doubt have liked to play more.
But he can be very pleased with what he did contribute, and Wolves fans are really hoping to see a totally different player at Molineux.
Hwang came on as a substitute the other night against Gillingham in the Carabao Cup, and once again he made a big impact.
He won the penalty for Raul Jimenez to score, and then squared for Rayan Ait-Nouri to seal the victory.
Hwang himself has now suggested his time in Qatar has helped him.
He said (Wolves official): “The manager is asking me to create plays by both playing wide and also centrally. He wants me to roam around and take defenders on and to play aggressively when there’s space available. I have a lot of confidence in situations like that.
“Also, to know that I’ve got a lot of support from our fans in Korea has given me a boost to perform well at all times. I know very well that many fans are supporting us from Korea. I have confidence that I can do well for them.”
Since those games against Portugal and Brazil, Hwang’ Instagram following has shot up to over 600,000. Prior to the tournament it was sitting at less than 300,000.
He has become a much bigger name back in his homeland, and has done interviews and photoshoots with some big Korean publications.
Hwang Hee-chan could rediscover his mojo at Wolves after excellent World Cup
Hwang has endured a pretty poor 2022 on the whole for Wolves.
It just hasn’t happened for him this year, and at times it’s just looked like he’s lacked confidence.
But he reminded everyone how good he can be at the World Cup.
It’s already looking like he could now embark on a kind of redemption arc, and it’s good to hear him say that his experience in Qatar, which has led to even greater support from Koreans, has given him a boost.
Ideally, we will be seeing the explosive and clinical player that first joined Wolves making a return soon.