PSG’s Lee Kang-in named to S. Korean men’s football team for Asian Games

 Paris Saint-Germain’s new midfielder Lee Kang-in was named to the South Korean men’s football team for the upcoming Asian Games on Friday, though his availability for the fall competition remains up in the air.

Head coach Hwang Sun-hong unveiled his 22-man roster for the Sept. 23-Oct. 8 competition in Hangzhou, China, with Lee being one of four Europe-based players.

The flashy midfielder joined PSG on a five-year deal last week, after spending his entire club career in Spain. He has collected 14 caps for the senior national team and played at last year’s FIFA World Cup in Qatar, where he logged two assists.

The Asiad men’s tournament isn’t part of the FIFA international calendar, and thus clubs aren’t obligated to release their players for this event.

Hwang admitted that PSG have not yet committed to making Lee available for the Asian Games, but that he was “optimistic” that he could secure Lee’s release.

“We had almost completed negotiations with Kang-in’s former team, Mallorca, but since he just joined PSG, we have to talk with them a bit more,” Hwang said at a press conference at the Korea Football Association (KFA) House in Seoul. “Kang-in really wants to play for the country and we have high expectations for him as well. I am optimistic that things will go our way.”

Hwang said the KFA has an agreement in place to bring three other European league players to the Asian Games. They are: VfB Stuttgart midfielder Jeong Woo-yeong, KAA Gent midfielder Hong Hyun-seok and Dynamo Dresden defender Park Kyu-hyun.

Jeong has made 11 appearances for the senior national team, one of them during last year’s FIFA World Cup. Both Hong and Park earned their first international caps on June 16 in a friendly against Peru and also played against El Salvador four days later.

Men’s football in Asian Games is typically limited to players 23 years or younger. However, since this edition of the event has been postponed by a year due to the COVID-19 pandemic, the age limit was pushed up to 24, meaning players born on or after Jan. 1, 1999, remain eligible.

Teams are also allowed to name up to three overage players as “wild cards.”

Hwang didn’t have to use one of the wild card slots on Lee, a precocious talent still just 22. The three spots went to a pair of Jeonbuk Hyundai Motors teammates, Paik Seung-ho, 26, and Park Jin-seob, 27, and Ulsan Hyundai FC defender Seol Young-woo, a 24-year-old born in December 1998.

Paik, a former FC Barcelona youth player, has 15 caps for the senior men’s team and scored a goal in his FIFA World Cup debut last year in Qatar. Park Jin-seob has never played for South Korea in any age group. Seol played his first senior international match against El Salvador last month and was a member of the Olympic team in 2021.

The major carrot for South Korean players at Asian Games is the exemption from the mandatory military service, granted to all gold medal winners at the continental event. Tottenham Hotspur star Son Heung-min gained his exemption with gold at the 2018 Asian Games in Indonesia.

South Korea will try to become the first country to win three straight gold medals in Asiad men’s football tournament. The draw for this year’s competition is July 27.