Who will fill the vacancy of Lee Kang-in (Paris Saint-Germain) and how. This is a challenge that fell to the national soccer team ahead of the A match in September.
On the 28th, the Korea Football Association (KFA) announced the list of 25 national teams to play in two consecutive A matches in September (Wales on the 8th and Saudi on the 13th).
Lee Kang-in, who was excluded from his team's training due to a left femoral quadriceps injury on the 23rd, failed to make his name.
Lee Kang-in, who had an image of a promising player until just last year, has become a key player of the national team. Coach Jürgen Klinsmann appointed Lee Kang-in in all four games since his appointment. It is not just the appointment, but he has gradually increased his weight and influence, and has been conducting tactics centered on him.
Compared to the previous national team led by Paulo Bento, Lee Kang-in is also the player who has grown the most in the team.
Klinsmann, who replaced the announcement of the list with data without a press conference, said of Lee Kang-in, "It is expected that the game will be disrupted by Lee Kang-in's injury. However, he even left a comment, saying, "I will accept the reality and use it as an opportunity to prepare for other plans."
Lee Kang-in can play both the side and the central midfielder. In his former team Majorca (Spain), he played as a side midfielder and a central attacking midfielder, and in Klinsmann's team, he played as a side resource in all four games. He also played as a side striker for Paris Saint-Germain (PSG), who was newly transferred this season.
First of all, side resources in the current national team include Son Heung-min (Tottenham), Hwang Hee-chan (Wolverhampton), Moon Sun-min (Jeonbuk), and Yang Hyun-joon (Celtic). However, there is a slight difference in style for them to replace the role played by Lee Kang-in.
If Lee Kang-in is a style of de-pressuring with his personal skills, the advantage of the four players is a straight breakthrough using speed.
If they are deployed, it is inevitable that the offensive development on the side will be different from the previous game style. 스포츠토토
If Lee Kang-in wants to continue his role on the side, there is also a way to place Lee Jae-sung (Mainz), a multi-resource who solves the game with passes and de-pressures, on the side.
There is also an option for the central midfielder to play the role of Lee Kang-in's game maker, leaving the existing position to the other wingers mentioned earlier.
Lee Dong-kyung (Ulsan), who returned to the A national team after a year and eight months, has advantages in penetration passes and ball ownership like Lee Kang-in. An experiment to secure Plan B by using Lee Dong-kyung, who has a similar tendency, as an attacking midfielder is not a bad choice.
Alternatively, Park Yong-woo (Al Ain), who recently melted into the national team, and Lee Soon-min (Gwangju), who was selected for the first time, will focus on defense protection, while second-line resources such as Hwang In-beom (Olympiacos) and Hong Hyun-seok (Hent) will put more effort into developing the attack.