France is eyeing Lee Kang-in (23, PSG), the star of the “Table Tennis Incident,” for the South Korean national team.
Hwang Sun-hong’s men’s soccer team will kick off the 2026 North and Central America World Cup Asia Second Qualifying Round against Thailand at the Seoul World Cup Stadium on June 21. South Korea and Thailand will play a return match on Sept. 26 in Bangkok.
The Korea Football Association announced the 23-man roster for the match on Nov. 11. The K League’s top scorer, Lee Min-kyu, will finally wear the Korean flag. Lee Kang-in, who has been at the center of controversy due to infighting, has been recalled to the squad and will partner Son Heung-min. Lee Seung-woo, who has scored in two consecutive games since the start of the 홀덤사이트 K League, was unfortunately left out of the squad.
The player to watch is Lee Kang-in. The Korean national team was torn apart by the Lee Kang-in table tennis incident at the Asian Cup in February. On Feb. 6, before the quarterfinal match against Jordan, Lee Kang-in and Son Heung-min clashed. Captain Son Heung-min called for a team meeting, but Lee played ping-pong, which led to a scuffle and a dislocated finger.
Coach Jürgen Klinsmann, who was supposed to mediate the incident, looked the other way and escalated the situation. The veteran players demanded that Klinsmann remove Lee from the quarterfinals. However, Klinsmann refused and went on to criticize the Korean players on social media, saying, “We need to be a team to achieve our goals.”
After the tournament, Lee traveled to London to apologize to Son Heung-min. They smiled and took a photo together. This was to clear up the situation that Lee Kang-in was facing intense public criticism. Lee also reportedly apologized to other seniors, including Kim Jin-soo.
Interim national team coach Hwang Sun-hong has selected Lee Kang-in for the March World Cup qualifiers. Hwang said, “Regarding Lee Kang-in, I have communicated directly with both players (Lee Kang-in and Son Heung-min). Lee Kang-in wants to sincerely apologize to football fans and players. Son Heung-min also expressed the opinion that he should go out in unity and support the players, so we selected him.”
How much of a difference Lee Kang-in will make will be the biggest question mark for the two games against Thailand. France also took note of Lee’s selection to the Korean national team, with ‘French Football Weekly’ stating, “Lee Kang-in, the man who split the Korean national team, is back in the squad. There is tension in the Korean national team. Lee stormed through the Asian Cup ‘table tennis incident’ at a young age. Lee was criticized for his lack of respect for the captain,” the report said.
“Mbappe’s teammate Lee Kang-in was heavily criticized. Many advertisers were ready to drop him. In response, Lee traveled to London to apologize to Son Heung-min. Lee was reinstated to the national team, but the controversy remains,” the report detailed.
Even Korean politicians, including Daegu Mayor Hong Joon-pyo, warned against voting for Lee Kang-in. France also watched the situation in Korea with interest. ‘French Football Weekly’ reported on the situation surrounding Lee Kang-in, saying, “A powerful Korean politician even pointed out Lee’s character. “Even a leading South Korean politician pointed out Lee’s character and said that players who are not human should be removed from the team,” said the French Football Weekly.
While the result of the two-game series against Thailand is important, it’s more important for Lee Kang-in and the rest of the team to show that they are back together. Will we see a pass from Lee Kang-in lead to a goal from Son Heung-min?
