Who are the ‘crown princes’ of coach Jürgen Klinsmann (GER)?Klinsmann’s men will face China at the Shenzhen Universiade Sports Center in Guangdong, China, on June 21 at 9 p.m. ET in the second Group C match of the FIFA Confederations Cup North America 2026 Asian qualifiers.Klinsmann, who made his debut in charge of the South Korean national team back in March, had a tough landing as he recorded his first win in six A-matches against Saudi Arabia.However, with the momentum from the win, Klinsmann’s side went on to win their next two friendlies against Tunisia (4-0) and Vietnam (6-0).In addition, they exploded for five goals in the first leg of their North American World Cup second qualifier against Singapore on Sept. 16 to extend their winning streak to four straight A matches.The player who has stolen the spotlight in each of these matches is Lee Kang-in (Paris Saint-Germain).Under his predecessor, Paulo Bento, Lee was never sure if he would even make the squad, let alone start.He began to make his mark on the national team at the World Cup Qatar 2022 qualifying stage, building on his breakout performance in Mallorca (Spain) last year.Klinsmann has consistently called Lee into the squad, with the exception of the September A-match period when he focused on recovering from a thigh injury, and Lee has played full-time in five of the seven games he has played under Klinsmann.
This is more than any other midfielder in the squad, making him Klinsmann’s “most trusted player,” and since he only came on as a 15th minute substitute against Colombia on his debut, and was subbed off in the 45th minute against Tunisia on March 13, it’s safe to say that he’s actually played full-time in six of his seven games.As if answering Klinsmann’s call, Lee scored multiple goals against Tunisia, including his A-match debut.He also stepped up to the plate in a game where South Korea’s mainstay Son Heung-min was sidelined with an injured leg muscle.Lee put on a one-man show, opening the scoring in the 10th minute with a picturesque left-footed curling free kick, and two minutes later opening the Tunisian goal with a left-footed turning shot from inside the penalty area.Son Heung-min praised Lee’s performance, saying, “I thought, ‘They can do it without me.After the Tunisia game, Lee played full-time against Vietnam and scored another goal, and then played until the end of the game against Singapore in the World Cup qualifier, scoring a goal in three consecutive games.Lee Kang-in, who has become the centerpiece of the national team from Klinsmann’s Lake, will try to score in four consecutive games against China on Nov. 21Kyu-sung Cho (Meatwillan), who scored the game-winning goal in Saudi Arabia that turned Klinsmann’s fortunes around, has also been used consistently.He became the first South Korean player to score multiple goals in a World Cup match when he scored against Ghana in the second game of Group H at last year’s World Cup in Qatar and quickly became a national team star.
Overshadowed by Hwang Eui-jo (Norwich City) and labeled as a backup striker in the national team, Cho’s World Cup performance propelled him to the European stage, and he’s now firmly established himself as a frontline striker on board Klinsmann’s ship.He has appeared in all nine of Klinsmann’s matches, starting against Colombia in his debut for Klinsmann. He has been on the pitch for an average of 67 minutes in seven of those starts.Jo Kyu-sung (Meatwillan), who scored the game-winning goal against Saudi Arabia that turned Klinsmann’s side around, has also been used consistently.He became the first South Korean player to score multiple goals in a World Cup match when he scored against Ghana in the second game of Group H at last year’s World Cup in Qatar and quickly became a national team star.Overshadowed by Hwang Eui-jo (Norwich City) and labeled as a backup striker in the national team, Cho’s World Cup performance propelled him to the European stage, and he’s now firmly established himself as a frontline striker on board Klinsmann’s ship.He has appeared in all nine of Klinsmann’s matches, starting against Colombia in his debut for Klinsmann. He has averaged 67 minutes on the pitch in seven of those starts.Klinsmann has also found new ways to use Seol Young-woo (Ulsan) in defense and Park Yong-woo (Al Ain) and Lee Sun-min (Gwangju) in midfield.Seol is quickly establishing himself as the first-choice fullback for the national team, while Park Yong-woo is also getting regular playing time.Lee Soon-min is fighting to further prove himself in limited playing time.Jeong Seung-hyun (Ulsan), who has been in and out of the national team, has also proven to 슬롯게이밍 be a solid central defense resource alongside Kim Min-jae (Bayern Munich).
