Interim National Football Team Boss Names Lee Kang-in for WC Qualifiers

South Korean national football team interim head coach Hwang Sun-hong on Monday announced his 23-man squad for the upcoming World Cup qualifying matches.

Among the 23 that made the cut is Paris Saint-Germain(PSG) midfielder Lee Kang-in, who was mired in a scuffle with captain Son Heung-min during the recent Asian Football Confederation(AFC) Asian Cup.

Despite calls for Lee to be excluded from the roster in order to provide an opportunity for self-reflection, head coach Hwang said he had directly communicated with the two players and that the PSG star wanted to come to the national team and apologize in-person.

Hwang said he does not think the Asian Cup incident was only about the two players involved, but that the entire team and coaching staff should feel responsible and unite as a team during the upcoming qualifiers to make amends.

The national team will gather on March 18 to play against Thailand at the Seoul World Cup Stadium on March 21, followed by an away game against the Southeast Asian nation on March 26.