Still Cheering for Lee Kang-in… Aftermath of the National Team’s Infighting, ‘Goodbye Now’
Amid the aftermath of the Asian Cup, the first domestic A match of the year sold out… ‘Association responsibility’ public opinion boils over
Lee Kang-in (Paris Saint-Germain), who was involved in the national team internal dispute that has heated up the soccer world since last month, washed away the aftermath of ‘Table Tennis Gate’ with the continued support of fans.
On the 21st, at the Seoul World Cup Stadium, the 2024 North and Central America World Cup Asian region second qualifying round match against Thailand was held, the first domestic A match of the 2024 national soccer team. 파워볼게임
It was also the national team’s first game after suffering severe aftereffects after being eliminated by Jordan with a score of 0-2 in the quarterfinals of the 2023 Asian Football Confederation (AFC) Asian Cup held in Qatar on the 7th of last month.
In addition to the poor performance of being eliminated in the Asian Cup, the ‘next-generation star’ of the national team, Lee Kang-in, tried to play table tennis with some teammates the day before the semifinals and physically collided with captain Son Heung-min (Tottenham), who tried to stop him, causing fans to be belatedly known.
It received strong criticism.
The poor management of the team by coach Jürgen Klinsmann (Germany), who had already been embroiled in calls for his dismissal, was revealed, leading to a breakup, and Olympic team coach Hwang Seon-hong took charge of the ‘temporary command tower’ and prepared for this international match.
Attention was focused on whether Lee Kang-in would be selected, and Director Hwang included both Son Heung-min and him in the list, saying, “I don’t think this problem will be resolved by calling him next time (rather than calling him this time).”
As the situation escalated, Lee Kang-in went to London and personally apologized to Son Heung-min, and before the official training on the 20th, Lee Kang-in expressed his reflection, saying, “I am so sorry for not being able to repay your support and disappointing you.”
He played the game on the bench that day it started.
When Lee Kang-in, who was included in the substitute list during the pre-game player introductions, was called into the stadium, the fans erupted in loud cheers just like before.
When the starting list was announced, Son Heung-min drew the loudest cheers, and among the replacement players, the voices for Lee Kang-in were loudest.
Lee Kang-in, who was supported by shouts of support despite being substituted for Jung Woo-young (Stuttgart) in the 19th minute of the second half, responded to the fans by waving for a while as he left the ground after the game ended in a 1-1 draw.
Due to the recent disappointing performance of the national team, there were voices among fans calling for a ‘boycott’ of on-site cheering ahead of this game, but the enthusiasm for cheering continued as tickets were sold out early.
The officially counted number of spectators was 64,912.