The determination to be a super big hit in soccer...Lee Kang-in's confidence, "Winning the World Cup, it's not impossible."
The determination to be a super big hit in soccer...Lee Kang-in's confidence, "Winning the World Cup, it's not impossible."
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Lee Kang-in (24, Paris Saint-Germain) won the World Cup in his heart. It is certainly a difficult thing for the world to be surprised, but I thought it would not be "impossible" to overcome as a one-team team.
The Korean national soccer team has built another golden tower. Led by coach Hong Myung-bo, the Korean national soccer team achieved the record of advancing to the World Cup finals for the 11th consecutive time by winning 4-0 against Kuwait in the 10th Group B match of the third Asian qualifying round for the 2020 North-China FIFA World Cup held at Seoul World Cup Stadium on Sunday.
With the victory, Korea has secured 22 points (six wins and four draws) to advance to the finals as No. 1 in the group. The team finished the preliminary round undefeated, achieving its third advance to the preliminary round after the 1990 World Cup qualifier in Italy and the 2010 World Cup qualifier in South Africa.
The stadium was filled with enthusiasm even before the game began. It was the first A match held at the Seoul World Cup Stadium in about nine months after the match against Palestine due to the "Nondureung grass." It was a venue for the festival as the team's advance to the finals has been confirmed. Though not sold out, 40,000 spectators gathered to cheer for the Korean national team.
After the game, the team gathered in the center circle to greet the fans. "I am truly grateful. "All the players worked hard together to be here. We will prepare well for the rest of the year so that we can show good performances to our fans," Lee Jae-sung, vice president of the team, said. "The support from the people really helped me. I will repay you with better performance in the future."
Lee Kang-in, who was one of the main players of the match, expressed his surprising ambition in an interview after the game. "When I went to the Under-20 World Cup for the first time, I said I won the championship, and many people thought it was impossible," he said. "However, I felt a lot while experiencing the Champions League title at Paris Saint-Germain. If you do your best as a team for a year, the dream of winning the World Cup is not impossible," he said, expressing confidence.
The game was a stage of experimentation that gave key players a break and young players a chance. Son Heung-min, who is recovering from injury, was out of the starting line, and Oh Hyun-kyu led the attack as a one-top. In midfield, Jeon Jin-woo, Hwang In-beom, Bae Jun-ho, and Won Doo-jae were located around Lee Kang-in, and the defensive line was built by Lee Tae-seok, Kim Joo-sung, Lee Han-beom, and Seol Young-woo. The goalkeeper was Lee Chang-geun.
South Korea has been pushing Kuwait since the beginning of the game. In the 11th minute of the first half, Bae Joon-ho, who received Seol Young-woo's forward pass, tried to shoot a header, but unfortunately hit the post, and in the 19th minute, Bae Joon-ho, who received Lee Kang-in's penetration pass, fired a sharp shot, but was blocked by the goalkeeper. In the 30th minute of the first half, Jin-woo Jeon induced Hwang In-beom's corner kick to score the first goal.
In the second half, Lee Kang-in, who received a pass from Bae Joon-ho, scored an additional goal with a sharp shot. Afterwards, Oh Hyun-kyu shook the net and widened the score again. After Lee Kang-in's goal, the flow of the game completely leaned toward Korea, and Kuwait could not find a clue to counterattack.
The stadium was filled with cheers as Son was substituted at 28 minutes into the second half. With his participation in the A-match games, Son has secured 134 total matches, beating Lee Woon-jae (133 matches) to the third place in history. Son Heung-min only has former coach Cha Bum-keun and coach Hong Myung-bo (136 matches or more). It was a short time but he delivered positive energy to younger players.
Coach Hong Myung-bo put in Hwang Hee-chan in the 37th minute of the second half, and the team finished the game with a stable operation. After the game, the players, including Son Heung-min, finished the perfect night of victory by sharing joy with their fans.
The match was not just a victory in the preliminary round, but a confirmation of the hopes of Korean soccer in the future. Lee Kang-in's remarks are not regarded as meaningless aspirations, but as a declaration reflecting the direction of the entire team. In fact, Lee Kang-in played a perfect role as the central axis of Korea's offense by showing creative passes several times along with the goal.
Korea is now officially getting ready for the World Cup finals. The key is how well it can elevate its team over the course of the year. When the leadership of veterans like Son Heung-min, as well as young players' growth, is combined, Korea may be able to achieve all-time results on the World Cup stage.
Q. When I was young, my dream was to play for the national team, win the Championship, and win the World Cup. I achieved the other two, but will winning the World Cup still be valid?
"When I first went to the U-20 World Cup, I said I wanted to win. I thought it was tough for many of my teammates at the time." 먹튀검증
"However, I felt a lot when I won the Champions League this time. Of course, it is a difficult dream. However, I don't think it is impossible if the players do their best and do their best as a team for the rest of the year."
"We'll need a lot of things, but if we do our best, I think we'll have a little bit of luck. I don't want to give up because it's a dream I've had since I was young. I want to prepare well for a year and do my best to achieve the World Cup that I dreamed of when I was young."