The South Korean national soccer team has reached the final in a blaze of glory, but the highly anticipated ace Lee Kang-in (Paris Saint-Germain) is still under the radar. All eyes will be on him to show his true colors in the final.
Hwang Sun-hong's side will face Japan in the men's football final of the Hangzhou 2022 Asian Games on Sunday at the Huanglong Sports Center Stadium in Hangzhou, Zhejiang Province, China. It will be the final match for South Korea, which has won two consecutive titles since Incheon in 2014.
From the group stage to the semifinals, South Korea was a dominant force, scoring 25 goals and conceding just two in six games. Jung Woo-young (Stuttgart) leads the tournament with seven goals, while Baek Seung-ho (Jeonbuk), Hong Hyun-seok (Ghent), and Cho Young-wook (Gimcheon) have all scored three goals apiece. 카지노사이트가이드
It's unfortunate that Lee has yet to record an offensive point in the tournament. He has played a total of four games, but has yet to play full-time, and his playing time is only about 180 minutes, which is equivalent to two games.
It seems that Hwang initially had no plans to use Lee Kang-in full-time before the final. Due to his late arrival to the national team due to injury and his club's schedule, he needed to stay fit, and the team needed to make a last-ditch effort to win the title.
Lee arrived in Hangzhou on March 21, the day of South Korea's second group game against Thailand, and played his first game of the tournament on March 24 against Bahrain. South Korea had already secured a spot in the round of 16 with two group wins, so Lee didn't have to push himself too hard, playing just 36 minutes to warm up.
In the round of 16 match against Kyrgyzstan, he started again. There was a sense of anticipation that it was Lee's turn to shine. However, Lee's movement seemed a bit sluggish, and he showed signs of fatigue in the second half. He left the field after just 60 minutes, looking less than acclimatized.
Still, as an ace, it was widely expected that he would start the quarterfinal against China, the biggest gateway game of the tournament, but he didn't. Lee came on in the 19th minute of the second half with the score at 2-0, but was unable to make an impact.
After the game, Hwang explained his decision to leave Lee Kang-in out of the starting lineup, saying, "We set up the lineup according to the opponent. It doesn't matter who starts," he explained. "All the strikers were in good shape, so whoever came on could do their job," he added.
It was a vague explanation, but one with a deep meaning. Lee started again in the quarterfinals against Uzbekistan, this time coming off the bench in the 59th minute. The score was 2-1, but with the final still to come, Lee needed to rest his legs. With other players in good form, they were confident that they could defend their lead.
I'm also hoping for a 'fireworks display' from the 'hidden card' Lee Kang-in in the final. Although he didn't play the full game against Uzbekistan, it's encouraging to see that he's getting lighter and lighter.
He doesn't have an offensive point yet, but he is the ace of the team. He won the Golden Ball at the 2019 U-20 World Cup with two goals and four assists, and with the senior national team already having World Cup experience, expectations are high for him to deliver in the big game.
Lee is determined to do just that ahead of the final. "I want to win the next game by playing a few minutes," he said, "and I'll do my best to prepare and hope for a good result."