PSG (France), the Paris Saint-Germain club, has sent a message of support to Lee Kang-in (22) as he prepares to compete at the 2023 Asian Football Confederation (AFC) Asian Cup.
“We wish Lee Kang-in the best of luck as he prepares to compete in the Asian Cup,” PSG said on its social media accounts on Wednesday (June 13). We will support him at the Asian Cup,” the club posted on social media. The post was posted on both the club’s official French-language account and its English-language counterpart.
“The Parisian South Korean will play his first match of the tournament on the 15th against Bahrain,” PSG wrote, along with the game time for what will be Lee’s first match at the Asian Cup. Achraf Hakimi, who is competing for Morocco at the CAF Africa Cup of Nations, shared a similar message of support.
In fact, both the club and the fans can’t help but be disappointed with the situation of being called up to the national team during the season, and secretly hope for an early return. If the South Korean national team reaches the final, he won’t be able to return to PSG until the 10th of next month. Still, the club has chosen to support Lee in hopes that his return will be fruitful for his career.
Lee Kang-in is currently in Doha, Qatar, training with the South Korean national soccer team in preparation for his first AFC Asian Cup appearance. Despite being one of the last to join the squad, Lee had hoped to be called up after playing in the French Super Cup against Toulouse on April 4, where he scored the winning goal to secure the team’s first win of the season, and is now preparing for the Asian Cup.
He was far from a starter at the last FIFA World Cup in Qatar in 2022, starting just one of the four matches before the round of 16, but he will be a “key” resource at the Asian Cup. Since the arrival of Jürgen Klinsmann as head coach of Germany, Lee has become a regular starter, and he is not only a regular starter but also an ace in the attack.
In particular, he has been on a steep rise in the national team, recording offensive points (4 goals and 3 assists) in four consecutive A matches last year. He is one of the young stars of the tournament that the AFC has taken notice of, and local media outlets such as Al Jazeera are also calling him a star to watch.
Lee will make his Asian Cup debut against Bahrain in their Group E opener at the Jassim bin Hamad Stadium at 8:30 p.m. on June 15. Lee will be part of the team’s first journey to win their first Asian Cup in 64 years.