Who are the two World Cup history-makers in South Korea’s clash with Czechia?

Who are the two World Cup history-makers in South Korea’s clash with Czechia?Ollie Whitmore, Chief football news reporter

>Miroslav Koubek and Jens Castrop are making history in South Korea’s World Cup clash with Czechia, both reflective of their own unique journeys through football.

>Hours after South Africa boss Hugo Broos – born on the 10th of April 1951 – set the record as the oldest in the tournament’s history at 74 years old, but at seven months and nine days his senior Czechia boss Koubek has just renewed it in Guadalajara, Mexico.

>The Czech was born in September 1951 and his managerial began in 1983, 43 years before this year’s finals, when he took over at third tier side SK Kladno one year on from his 11-year playing career coming to an end.

>He has been in charge of 15 others since then – including the country’s giants Slavia Prague and the Under 19 national team.

>But his title as the most seasoned veteran among managers to ever lead a country through a World Cup won’t be safe for long, with 78-year-old Dutchman Dick Advocaat set to break the record yet again when debutants Curaçao face Germany on Sunday.

>Ghana manager Carlos Quieroz and former Leeds boss Marco Bielsa, now in charge of Uruguay, make up the remaining managers aged over 70 at this year’s World Cup, of which there are four.

>As for Castrop, though the Borussia Monchengladbach midfielder has been sat on the bench as the game approaches its final moments, he became the first foreign-born, mixed-heritage player to ever be called up to a World Cup tournament by South Korea.

>The 22-year-old, born to a German father and South Korean mother, has spent the entirety of his career in Germany but never managed to break into the national set up, making his Bundesliga debut for Gladbach last August.

>In an interview with The Korea Times, Castrop revealed that his father was “very shocked” yet proud to learn he had switched allegiances, with his mother previously recounting telling him: “Your roots are Korean, and you must have a Korean identity.”

>“My son’s heart is in Korea,” she added. “It is Korean, no matter what. He does not spare himself, he has a strong sense of discipline, he restrains himself from doing things.

>“When he has free time, he walks his dog or goes fishing instead of going to parties. He focuses on football.”

>Players are normally restricted to representing just one country by FIFA, world football’s governing body, if they make one appearance for their senior national team. Castrop hadn’t ever represented Germany, meaning he was free to make the switch.

>Dual nationals who wish to do the same but have made senior appearances can still do so via the ‘one-time switch‘, allowing players that have made no more than three senior appearances for their previous nation while under the age of 21.

>They must also ensure that none of them came at any continental championships, like the FIFA World Cup, three years have passed since their last appearance, and that they were eligible to represent their desired nation while playing under their old flag.