It’s literally the Lee Kang-in dilemma.
Hwang Sun-hong-ho, who is trying to win his third straight men’s soccer title at the Hangzhou Asian Games, has been struggling with not being able to ‘fully train’ five days before his first group game.
Hwang Sun-hong, who has been training at the National Training Center (NFC) in Paju for the last 13 days ahead of the Hangzhou Asian Games, will depart for China on the 16th.
At the tournament, Hwang will face Kuwait on the 19th, Thailand on the 21st, and Bahrain on the 24th in Group E. He has been working hard on his tactical skills.
However, with the team’s focus on last-minute tactical training, Hwang has been missing one of his key attacking resources, Lee Kang-in (Paris Saint-Germain-PSG).
PSG has been unable to provide an exact timetable for Lee’s return, which has left Hwang frustrated.
Lee has recently recovered from a thigh injury and has been training with the team, which is good news for Hwang.
However, PSG has not informed him when he will join the national team, so he continues to be a “hopeful advisor.
“I hope Lee Kang-in can make it for one or two group games,” Hwang said, effectively ending his hopes of playing in the first match against Kuwait on Sept. 19.
Lee’s “late arrival” may remind soccer fans of the 2018 Jakarta-Palembang Asian Games.
Kim Hak-beom, who coached the national team at the Asian Games, chose Son Heung-min (Tottenham), Hwang Eui-jo (Norwich City and Gamba Osaka), and Cho Hyun-woo (Ulsan and Daegu) as wild cards.
However, Kim also had to contend with the timing of Son’s arrival.
Kim arrived in Indonesia in the early hours of August 12, 2018, and was ready for his first training session immediately afterward, but Son was not able to join him.
Heung-min had just played the opening match of the English Premier League (EPL) on the 11th and had a grueling journey from England to Indonesia via Singapore, arriving on the 13th.
As a result, Kim benched Son Heung-min for the first group game against Bahrain on August 15, 2018, to protect the player.
Three days later, Son started against Malaysia, but South Korea suffered a 1-2 loss. However, Son scored the winning goal in the third match against Kyrgyzstan to advance to the round of 16.
Kim Hak-beom-ho’s side then went on to win their second consecutive men’s soccer title at the Asian Games.
Fast-forward five years, and Hwang Sun-Hong Ho could be in a similar situation, having to endure the first and second rounds of the group stage without their “core striker”.
Today, Hwang has a number of experienced strikers, including Jung Woo-young (Stuttgart) and Cho Young-wook (Gimcheon).
They also have Europeans Hong Hyun-seok (Gent) and Song Min-kyu (Jeonbuk) and Uhm Won-sang (Ulsan), who are thriving in the K League.
With the addition of Lee Kang-in, the attacking options will become even more potent, so Hwangseon Hongho, who are looking to win their third consecutive tournament, will need to win their first and second group games to secure a spot in the round of 16 early. 스포츠토토