Lee Kang-in (Paris Saint-Germain), who lifted the European champions' trophy for a second consecutive season, has joined head coach Hong Myung-bo's South Korea national team.
Lee arrived at the Zions Bank Training Center in Herriman, near Salt Lake City, Utah — the pre-camp training site of the South Korean squad — at around 3:13 p.m. local time on Sunday. With his arrival, all 26 players named to the national team roster have now gathered in one place.
Hong's squad set up its pre-camp in Salt Lake City, Utah, on the 18th of last month and has been conducting high-altitude adaptation training. Around the 24th of last month, key players including Kim Min-jae (Bayern Munich) and Son Heung-min (LAFC) arrived at the pre-camp in succession.
Lee was the last to arrive at the camp due to his club schedule. The PSG midfielder's arrival was delayed as he played in the UEFA Champions League final. Although Lee did not take the pitch in the final, he was on the bench supporting his teammates. PSG defeated Arsenal (England) on penalties to capture back-to-back titles in the competition.
Lee arrived at Salt Lake City International Airport on an afternoon flight that day.
According to the national team, he quickly had lunch upon arriving at the airport and then headed to the training ground. Despite a schedule that could have been demanding given the travel distance and time difference, his strong determination to integrate quickly into the team was evident.
"Lee himself showed a strong will to join the team training right away," a national team official said.
After stepping out of the vehicle in front of the training facility, Lee smiled brightly and waved at reporters.
Hong's squad, which won 5-0 in a friendly against Trinidad and Tobago two days ago, will play its final friendly against El Salvador at 10 a.m. Korea time on the 4th.
The team will then travel on the 5th, local time, to Guadalajara, Mexico, the venue for the first and second matches of its World Cup group stage and the location of its base camp.
