The Korean national soccer team, led by coach Klinsman, will play a home match against Uruguay in the March A-match evaluation match at Seoul World Cup Stadium at 8:00 pm on the 28th.
The national team, which drew 2-2 in the evaluation match against Colombia held at Munsu Soccer Stadium in Ulsan on the 24th, returned to the Paju NFC (National Football Team Training Center) on the 26th after a break and began training in preparation for the match against Uruguay. It is a rematch with Uruguay about four months after meeting at the 2022 World Cup in Qatar. At that time, Korea drew 0-0.
On the 27th, the day before the game against Uruguay, coach Klinsman held a pre-game press conference at the Paju NFC and said, “Lee Kang-in is a young and talented player, and he is receiving a lot of attention in Korea. A good coach, Mallorca coach. I know personally, but if I continue to play for my team and grow steadily, I will gradually increase my playing time for the national team.”
At a press conference before the game against Colombia on the 23rd, Klinsman praised Lee Kang-in as “a player who plays high-quality soccer.” That’s why Kang-in Lee was expected to start, but the one who was selected first was the small Jung Woo-young (Freiburg). Lee Kang-in was replaced by Jung Woo-young in the 15th minute of the second half and stepped on the ground, but there was no outstanding performance.
Lee Kang-in was not a player consistently selected from the national team under the former Bento coach system. The Korea-Japan match in March 2021, when Korea lost 0-3 to Japan, was Kang-in Lee’s last A match before the World Cup in Qatar. Lee Kang-in has been active as a key playmaker for his team Mallorca this season and has grown into a player in the spotlight in Spain’s La Liga, which is called the two major mountains of the world soccer league along with the English Premier League (EPL). Nevertheless, in September 2022, he was only selected for the national team after a year and a half, and he could not play a single minute in two matches against Costa Rica-Cameroon. 메이저사이트
Lee Kang-in’s trip to Qatar seemed to be frustrated, but Bento’s former coach selected Lee Kang-in for the World Cup team as a surprise. Bento said that he was more advanced than before. Lee Kang-in, who dramatically participated in the World Cup in Qatar, played a pivotal role in the second group match against Ghana in the group stage, stealing the opponent’s ball following quick pressure and helping Cho Kyu-seong score with a sharp left-footed cross.
After the push and pull with Bento, Lee Kang-in now boarded the Klinsman, and contrary to many people’s expectations, he was unable to start the game against Colombia, the debut game of coach Klinsman’s national team command tower. Of course, it is not easy to predict whether Clinsman will use Lee Kang-in in the future based only on the lineup for the game against Colombia. However, Klinsman’s interview, in which Lee Kang-in’s ‘increased playing time in the national team’ was conditional on ‘steady growth’, could be interpreted in the way that Lee Kang-in may not receive many opportunities right away in the national team.