'They saw the fire in my eyes': Jens Castrop on finding football in Düsseldorf, representing the Republic of Korea, and his first FIFA World Cup

Düsseldorf, the sixth-biggest city in Germany, sits at the heart of the country's Rhine-Ruhr region — one of the most football-obsessed corners of Europe, home to Fortuna Düsseldorf and within easy reach of fierce regional rivals FC Cologne and Borussia Mönchengladbach.

It's also home to one of Europe's biggest Korean communities. Put those two facts together, and you begin to understand how Düsseldorf produced one of the most unexpected stories of the FIFA World Cup 2026 in the form of Borussia Mönchengladbach midfielder Jens Castrop.

Castrop, who was born and raised in Düsseldorf to a Republic of Korea mother and a German father, was named to the Republic of Korea's World Cup squad in May, becoming the first foreign-born, mixed-heritage player ever selected for a Republic of Korea World Cup squad.

"I'm excited about my first World Cup," he says in the latest episode of 'World at Their Feet', an 11-episode short-form series from Olympics.com following emerging football talent on the road to the FIFA World Cup 2026. "I'll enjoy every second of it."

It's an obvious statement from a young man about to play on international football's biggest stage. But make no mistake: Castrop has manifested this history-making opportunity through sheer willpower, work-rate, and an admitted "fire" that has, at times, needed to be contained lest it burn too bright.

Jens Castrop keeps it local

The typical story of how a youngster gets into football typically involves a parent who played the game signing them up to a local club. But that wasn't the case for Castrop.

"My parents had no connection to football. However, I ended up joining SV Lohausen simply because it was a local club near us," he says.

It was a fitting environment. "In Düsseldorf we have a large Asian community — people from [the Republic of] Korea, Japan, and [the People's Republic of] China," says Ronny Cavegn, a coach at Lohausener SV. "I think we currently have three or four South Koreans here at the club."

While Castrop's heritage at the club was not unique, his ability on the pitch was, and word soon reached the youth coaches of Fortuna Düsseldorf about a young German-Korean prospect who could become something special.

"When he joined us in training we were actually convinced relatively quickly that he had to play here," says Jari Richardson, a coach at the Bundesliga 2 club (Germany's second division in the men's professional ranks).

"Technically, he was by far not the best in the team, nor was he the most talented," Richardson admits, "but he had that determination to give it all no matter what."

It was an intensity that required careful management. "In every training session, he was so close to the point where you really felt, OK, we need to slow him down rather than push him any further," says Richardson. "And he stuck with it and got better as a result."

"They saw the fire in my eyes," Castrop says.

"I didn't have patience"

Castrop's zeal in training extended to his desire to achieve his personal and professional goals.

Still in Fortuna Düsseldorf's youth academy, he was already looking ahead, eager to take the next step, wherever that might lead.

Richardson saw it first-hand: "He wanted to go to FC Cologne, because he thought this was the right move. He then wanted to move on to FC Nuremberg even though he probably would have made his mark at FC Cologne as well. But it all wasn't happening fast enough for him."

"I didn't have patience," the footballer agrees.

In 2015, Castrop would indeed transfer to the FC Cologne academy, where he played for the Under-15 and Under-17 teams before being promoted to the first team in 2020 and signing his first professional contract.

Two years later, he moved to Bundesliga 2 side Nuremberg on loan, signing permanently the following summer. In 86 appearances for Die Geißböcke (The Billy Goats), Castrop scored seven goals and contributed nine assists — though he also accumulated 25 yellow cards and three red cards, a testament to the combative, hard-tackling side of his game, the Korean international does not attempt to hide. "I'm an aggressive player," he told The Korea Herald. "I like to win the ball."

Jens Castrop on getting the call from Republic of Korea

Just one month before the Düsseldorf-born player's debut Bundesliga goal, he received word from FIFA that another long-held ambition had come to fruition: he was now free to represent the Republic of Korea in international play.

Growing up, the had represented the nation of his birth at every level from U16 through to the U21s, but the idea of a different path was never far from his mind.

"Actually, I always had the thought of changing national teams. It was somewhere in the back of my mind, but at the same time it felt very surreal: is all this really possible?" Then the interest came from the Korea Football Association — initially, he recalls, through Olympic bronze medallist and Italia '90 World Cup winner Jürgen Klinsmann.

"I then applied for the passport and got the invitation. It all happened quickly. And then suddenly, I was there."

FIFA approved the switch in August 2025. Within weeks, Castrop came off the bench to make his senior debut in a 2–0 win over the United States. "I was accepted as 100 per cent Korean in the team," he says. "Now I'm learning the language, I met loads of new teammates — it's a whole different world.

"My goals and ambitions are still big — so I'm just happy to be a part of it, and hope we can be successful over the next few years."

Castrop is yet to play for the Taegeuk Warriors in a competitive match — his five appearances have all come in friendlies — but he will more than likely tick another box off his to-do list when the Republic of Korea face Czechia in their opening Group A contest on 11 June at Guadalajara Stadium.

He will undoubtedly be cheered on by thousands of fervent supporters, both in Mexico, Korea, and back home in Düsseldorf - especially by those who first saw his raw potential.

"I don't think many people believed he'd achieve what he has done now, apart from himself and his parents," says Richardson. "That's why I'd say the sky's the limit, because ultimately, he sets his own limits."

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