Korean soccer is expected to overcome its 64-year-old Asian Cup championship title because of the outstanding performances of “big leaguers” (players from England, Germany, Spain, Italy and France leagues) in history. Korea, which is aiming to win the AFC Qatar Asian Cup, which kicks off on Thursday (Korea time), will head to Abu Dhabi, the United Arab Emirates (UAE), where it will train. The team will play its first Group E match against Bahrain at 8:30 p.m. on Tuesday. The team plans to maximize its teamwork by playing in an exhibition game against Iraq, as it adjusts to the local climate in Abu Dhabi on Wednesday.
The Asian Cup is a major competition that is subject to FIFA`s regulation. According to the regulation, players must be sent at least two weeks before the start of the season when requested by the national team. All but Lee Kang-in (PSG) from the 26 big leaguers on the final list announced by the Korea Football Association (KFA) will leave his team for Abu Dhabi on Tuesday. Lee will have to play in the final match of the Trope de Champion (French Super Cup) against Toulouse on Saturday. It is known that national team coach Jurgen Klinsmann gave consideration to Lee as he had the opportunity to lift his first trophy after moving to PSG.
Previously, European league players, who account for a large portion of their power ahead of the Asian Cup, often performed unevenly. This time, not only six big leaguers (Son Heung-min, Hwang Hee-chan, Lee Kang-in, Kim Min-jae, Lee Jae-sung, Jung Woo-young), but also European players who play in middle and sogg such as Cho Kyu-sung (Mitt Willan) and Hong Hyun-seok (Hent) are in their peak condition.
The big leaguer’s performance is the greatest in history. Son Heung-min (Tottenham), the eldest brother, scored his 12th goal in three consecutive games at a home game of the 20th round of the English Premier League (EPL) against Bournemouth in the last game of the Asian Cup that ended on Sunday. He is tying for second with Mohamed Salah (Liverpool) and Dominic Solanke (Bonmouth) after Erling Holan (Manchester City), the top scorer with 14 goals. 안전한 파워볼사이트
Compared to the 2021-2022 season, when he became the first Asian top scorer in the EPL, his scoring clock is very fast. He scored his 12th goal at the time in the 28th round with Everton. He will be away for the time being due to participation in the Asian Cup, but this season is a trend that he can challenge himself to be the top scorer.
Korean Guy Hwang Hee-chan (Wolverhampton)’s performance is also fascinating. He also delivered his third assist in the league as well as an offensive point in two consecutive games against Everton on March 31. He has scored 10 goals this season, ranking sixth in the EPL. He has scored more than eight goals in the past two seasons (2021-2022, 2022-2023), and achieved his first career double-digit score in a big league season. Surprisingly, he has scored 10 goals by attempting 13 shots on target in the past 20 games. The percentage of goals scored against shots on target stands at 77 percent. He has tremendous goal-scoring ability.
Lee Kang-in, the core player of his second term, has been reborn as a starting member of a major club despite his debut in the season. He has played in 15 matches (10 matches in the league), and has scored two goals and two assists. Kim Min-jae (Bayern Munich), a monster defender who is guarding the back, is also indispensable from his debut season in the German Bundesliga. He started (one goal) in all 15 matches his team played. Huskord, a soccer statistics firm, has listed Lee as one of the best 11 players in the first half of the Bundesliga based on ratings by match. Other Bundesliga leaguers Lee Jae-seong (Mainz) and Jung Woo-young (Stuttgart) are also serving as housekeepers for their respective teams.