Hwang Sun-hong, the interim coach of the South Korean national football team, announced the team lineup, which included Lee Kang-in on Mar. 11, 2024. /News1

The coach of South Korea’s national football team has included Lee Kang-in in the World Cup qualifiers lineup, emphasizing the importance of addressing internal conflicts to become a better team in the future.

On March 11, Hwang Sun-hong, the interim coach of the South Korean national football team, stated that he would need to call up Lee for the 2026 FIFA World Cup qualifiers for Asian teams.

According to him, it is possible to get past the current crisis without calling Lee, but the situation will not be resolved completely. Therefore, he believes that it is an issue that must be solved at some point.

“I have spoken with the players,” said Hwang. “Lee wanted to meet with his teammates in person and offer a sincere apology. Son Heung-min suggested that we should embrace Lee. This is not just a problem between the two of them. It is also the fault of everyone in the team at that time, including people like me in the soccer community. We will play these two matches with an apologetic mind to the fans.”

The squad consists of key members such as the captain Son Heung-min (32, Tottenham), Kim Min-jae (28, Bayern Munich), and Hwang In-beom (28, Red Star). However, the decision to select Lee Kang-in (23, Paris Saint-Germain) was controversial until the announcement.

This is because last month, Lee had a physical altercation with Son Heung-min on the eve of the 2023 AFC Asian Cup semi-final against Jordan. This led to a lot of criticism against Lee.

After facing criticism from football fans, Lee personally visited Son in London to apologize. He also reached out to other senior team members to express his regret. As a result, the conflict between the two was resolved, and some argued that inclusion of Lee should not be an issue.

However, there were also some fans who believed that Lee should not have been called up for the national team. They argued that disciplinary action was necessary due to the undermining of the team’s hierarchy. A survey conducted by Realmeter, which polled 526 men and women aged 18 and above nationwide, showed that 40.7% of respondents opposed calling up Lee, with 46.9% in favor.

Coach Hwang stated, “We haven’t played soccer by avoiding it when it’s hard and playing it when it’s easy,” acknowledging the negative public opinion about Lee.

Hwang also mentioned that every team faces internal issues from time to time. However, what truly matters is how efficiently to deal with problems within short time. He explained that the most effective approach to handling any issues that arise during a game is to address them on the field and this can even help to strengthen the team.