Lee Kang-In, South Korea’s creative fulcrum before Mexico | OneFootball

Lee Kang-In carries South Korea’s creative hopes into their second Group A game against Mexico in Guadalaraja on Thursday, despite three years as a back-up at PSG. The match is in the early hours of Friday, at 3am.

According to Le Progres, the 25-year-old is viewed as a leading talent of his generation and was voted the country’s 2025 player of the year ahead of Son Heung-min.

He impressed in the opener against the Czech Republic, the No 19 threading passes and setting up Hwang In-beom for the first goal to make it 1-1 on 67 minutes. It is his second World Cup after Qatar 2022.

A versatile midfielder who can play wide or as a false 9, he often unlocks games for the national side with forward bursts and tactical nous refined under Luis Enrique at PSG. He is an automatic pick with 88 caps and 11 goals.

At club level he has been used sparingly in big matches, with more minutes in Ligue 1 but only one Champions League start, against Bayern Munich in November when injuries hit, and no appearances from the quarter-final second leg onward.

With two years left on his deal, he could seek starts elsewhere this summer. The report says any exit would need both a request from the player and a satisfactory offer, otherwise he stays. In January, Luis Enrique said he needed more consistency and had also been unlucky with a thigh injury sustained while starting the Intercontinental Cup final against Flamengo.

Source: Le Progres