The reunited national team has a daunted atmosphere. Unusual training is closed - no interviews allowed.
Lee Kang-in, who received much criticism for getting into a neck-and-neck fight with captain Son Heung-min during the Asian Cup last month, arrived in Korea on the 19th and joined the national soccer team. He is the latest member of the national team among the 23 national teams convened for the 2026 North and Central America World Cup Asia 2nd qualifying round match against Thailand (21st and 26th). Lee Kang-in played his team Paris Saint-Germain's French Ligue 1 game the day before and boarded a plane to Korea.
On this day, Lee Kang-in bowed his head once in front of the reporters' cameras waiting at the arrival hall of Incheon International Airport, and after receiving gifts from fans, he immediately got into his car and left the airport. Lee Kang-in, who arrived in the country late in the afternoon, did not participate in the national team training that took place at Goyang Stadium in Gyeonggi Province from 4 PM on this day. Lee Kang-in will participate in training on the 20th, a day before the match against Thailand, and stand on the field with Son Heung-min for the first time since the bottom-up incident during the Asian Cup. Before training on the 20th at the Seoul World Cup Stadium, Lee Kang-in will stand in front of reporters and apologize once again for the poor performance during the Asian Cup.
The national team, which reunited for the first time since the Asian Cup, which was a disaster, still looks very depressed. The training that took place on the 19th with five European players including Son Heung-min, Kim Min-jae, Hwang In-beom, Cho Kyu-sung, and Hong Hyun-seok joining was not disclosed to the media. It is rare for the national soccer team to not disclose its domestic training to the Korean media. Coach Hwang Seon-hong, who served as the temporary head coach of the national team, did not even allow the players to be interviewed by the media on the 18th, the first day of convocation. This is also rare. Coach Hwang said, “After talking with the players, they are still very mentally burdened and having a hard time,” and added, “It is important to create an atmosphere where the players can focus only on the game.” 토토