“I’m happy to see Lee grow. I’m sure the fans are too. He is becoming more and more responsible and mature. He’s not only dribbling and passing, which he’s good at, but he’s also committed to defense,” said Jürgen Klinsmann (59, Germany) when asked about Lee Kang-in (22, Paris Saint-Germain) after the South Korean national team’s 5-0 victory over Singapore on Saturday in the first leg of the second Asian qualifying round for the 2026 North and Central American World Cup.
It’s no exaggeration to say that the game against Singapore started and ended with Lee Kang-in. After struggling against Singapore’s tight defense until the last minute of the first half, South Korea opened the scoring in the 44th minute with a ‘courier cross’ from Lee Kang-in. Lee cut across the defense from the right side outside the penalty area and delivered the ball precisely in front of Cho Kyu-sung (25-Mitwillan), who dug in from behind the two layers of Singapore’s defense and split the goal with a non-stop left-footed shot.
In the 23rd minute, Seol Young-woo (25-Ulsan) was fouled by Lee Kang-in’s sensational heel pass and Hwang Eui-jo (31-Norwich City) converted the penalty. Lee capped the night with a precise left-footed mid-range shot in the 40th minute. It was Lee’s third consecutive A-Match goal, after scoring against Tunisia (two) and Vietnam (one goal, one assist) last month. 무지개토토 주소
Although the goal was disallowed due to an offside call, it was Lee Jae-sung (31-Mainz)’s left-footed cross that opened the scoring in the 23rd minute, and Lee’s stunning header in the 29th minute, which was saved by the goalkeeper, was the result of an unstoppable right-footed cross that broke through the defense. The Seoul World Cup stadium erupted in cheers reminiscent of an idol concert whenever Lee appeared on the big screen, and he has been attracting female fans lately.
A year ago, Lee was a substitute for Bento. The 54-year-old was not a regular in the squad led by Paulo Bento (Portugal) before the World Cup in Qatar, but made his presence felt in the knockout stages. He came on late in the second leg of the group stage against Ghana and assisted on Cho Kyu-sung’s header to help South Korea reach the round of 16.