PSG sent a message of support on the club's official SNS on the 13th (Korea time), saying, "I wish Lee Kang-in, who is preparing for the Asian Cup in Qatar, good luck."
The South Korean national soccer team, led by head coach Jürgen Klinsmann, will play Bahrain in the first Group E match of the 2023 Asian Cup of Qatar at 8:30 p.m. on the 15th (Korean time) at Jasim bin Hamad Stadium in Doha, Qatar.
At this year's Asian Cup, Korea was in Group E along with Bahrain, Jordan and Malaysia. Starting with the match against Bahrain on June 15, Korea will face off against Jordan on June 20 and Malaysia on June 25.
PSG wished Lee Kang-in good health as the first round of the group stage, the first gateway to the tournament, approached.
PSG said on its SNS, "I wish Lee Kang-in, who is preparing for the Asian Cup with the national team in Qatar, good luck," adding, "Our Korean Parisian (a man living in Paris, France) will participate in the match against Bahrain at 8:30 p.m. on Monday, January 15," while also informing fans of the date and time of the match.
In addition to the message of support, PSG also produced posters exclusively for Lee Kang-in and posted them on social media. After Lee Kang-in, who wore a PSG uniform, the Asian Cup, the tournament he is currently participating in, was introduced.
Not only the club but also fans cheered for Lee Kang-in and the Korean national team, hoping that Lee Kang-in, a key player in the club, would return to PSG with the trophy if possible.
South Korea, which has not won a championship for 64 years since its second consecutive Asian Cup titles in 1956 and 1960, has virtually no record of winning a championship in the modernized Asian Cup. In the 21st century, the runner-up at the 2015 Australian Games is the best performance.
South Korea will start its journey with a big goal of winning the tournament for the first time in 64 years by forming the strongest member ever.
In addition to Lee Kang-in, the 2019 FIFA U-20 World Cup Golden Ball (MVP) winner and PSG new star, Son Heung-min (Tottenham Hotspur), Kim Min-jae (Bayern Munich), who won the Serie A best defender award, and Hwang Hee-chan (Wolverhampton Wanderers), who is playing with double-digit scores in the Premier League, have the best players of all time on both sides of offense and defense.
After a ceremony at the Korea Football Association (KFA) Awards on the 2nd, South Korea headed to Abu Dhabi, the United Arab Emirates (UAE), where it was trained. Players from overseas, including Son Heung-min and Hwang Hee-chan, joined Abu Dhabi directly from their respective teams on the 3rd.
Lee belatedly joined the team with the cooperation of KFA and Coach Klinsmann. "Most players from overseas including Son Heung-min (Tottenham Hotspur) will be called to Abu Dhabi in the United Arab Emirates on January 2 next year in line with the convocation rules," the KFA said. "Lee will join his team immediately after playing in the Super Cup."
Considering Lee Kang-in's aspiration to win the championship, Klinsmann allowed Lee to join a few days later. It seems that he decided that it would be better to continue his mood to the Asian Cup after lifting the trophy.
Lee Kang-in, who left RCD Majorca in Spain's La Liga last summer and wore a PSG uniform, became one of the key players in the team as he successfully established himself in the team even though it was his debut season. Despite injuries and a call-up to the Hangzhou Asian Games during the first half of the year, he appeared in 16 games and played 1,095 minutes, scoring three goals and two assists.
Lee Kang-in started the final of the 2023-2024 Trope de Champion (France Super Cup) between PSG and Toulouse at the Parc des France in Paris, France on the 3rd and scored the winning goal in the first two minutes, contributing to the team's 2-0 victory.
Lee Kang-in enjoyed the joy of lifting the trophy for the first time since he joined PSG in July last year. The Trope de Champaign is a Super Cup match in which the winner of the French Ligue 1 and the winner of the Coupe de France (France Cup) compete in the same season. PSG is the champion of the League 1 for the 2022-2023 season, and Toulouse has won the title of the French Cup.
Lee Kang-in conducted a flash interview with the broadcaster shortly after the game and then left an autograph on the match ball that day. After that, he received the official MOM trophy selected by the French Football Federation (LFP), which hosted the game, and took a commemorative photo. After this schedule, he moved to Abu Dhabi on the 5th to join the national team and began to harden the Asian Cup.
While not only Korean fans but also PSG are cheering, attention is being paid to whether Lee Kang-in will be able to start the tournament in a good mood by scoring an offensive point in the first group match against Bahrain.
BY: 스포츠토토