Lee Kang-in of South Korea, right, tries to dribble past Saidazamat Mirsaidov (L) and Ibrokhim Ibrokhimov of Uzbekistan during the teams' semifinals match of the men's football tournament at Huanglong Sports Centre Stadium in Hangzhou, China, Oct. 4. Yonhap
He has yet to play a full match since joining Korea at the Asian Games men's football tournament in China, but Paris Saint-Germain (PSG) midfielder Lee Kang-in says he couldn't care less about his playing time.
"It's not up to me whether I play the full 90 minutes or not. It's up to the coach," Lee said after playing 60 minutes in Korea's 2-1 win over Uzbekistan in the semifinals Wednesday night. "I am not disappointed at all about my playing time. It doesn't matter how many minutes I play in the next one. I just want to win the gold medal here."
Lee missed Korea's first two group stage matches in China due to his club commitments. Since the Asian Games aren't part of the FIFA international calendar, clubs aren't obligated to release their players. PSG did agree to send Lee to China but only on the condition that he would play a UEFA Champions League group stage match before making his trip.
Lee Kang-in of South Korea, left, tries to dribble past Ibrokhimkhalil Yuldoshev of Uzbekistan during the teams' semifinals match of the men's football tournament at Huanglong Sports Centre Stadium in Hangzhou, China, on Oct. 4, 2023. (Yonhap)
He made his tournament debut against Bahrain on Sept. 24 and logged 36 minutes. He played 60 minutes in the round of 16 against Kyrgyzstan and then came off the bench to play 28 minutes in the second half against China in the quarterfinals.
Lee was back in the starting lineup against Uzbekistan on Wednesday and was subbed out near the hour mark.
Lee, who had missed some time from late August to early September with a left quad injury, had a little more bounce in his step Wednesday than in earlier matches.
Asked if he had started feeling better, Lee said: "Well, I always feel the same. Winning is more important than how I feel at the moment." (Yonhap)