The Japanese media, which even recalled the "Son Heung-min and Lee Kang-in's infighting," said, "The beginning of the Korean soccer crash is Clinsman."

*This content was translated by AI.

A Japanese soccer media outlet pointed out that the appointment of former German coach Jurgen Klinsmann (Germany) caused Korean soccer to begin to fall after the FIFA Qatar World Cup 2022. In the process, he analyzed that Son Heung-min (LAFC) and Lee Kang-in (Paris Saint-Germain) are taking contrasting steps with the Japanese national team, pointing out the internal strife, the temporary head coach system, and the poor performance since Hong Myung-bo took office.

The Japanese media Football Channel said on the 8th, "The Japanese national soccer team has set its goal of winning the 2026 FIFA 2026 FIFA North and Central America World Cup and is growing to the point where it is never thought of as a dream story," but added, "On the other hand, there is a national team that has been on the back foot since the last World Cup in Qatar," adding that the Korean national team is one of the five teams whose expectations have decreased significantly compared to the World Cup in Qatar.

The media said, "Korea, which is also Japan's archrival, was eliminated after losing to Brazil after reaching the round of 16 through the group stage at the 2022 Qatar World Cup." He pointed out that it was Coach Klinsmann, who took office after the Qatar World Cup, that triggered the fall of Korean soccer.

The Football Channel said, "Coach Clinsman has been anxious from the start as he has not won in five consecutive games since taking office. His attitude of not staying in Korea and not actively watching the K-League drew antipathy from fans, and he was eventually replaced after losing to Jordan in the semifinals of the Asian Football Confederation (AFC) Asian Cup in February 2024. In particular, ahead of the semifinal match against Jordan, young players such as Lee Kang-in, who finished dinner early to play table tennis, and captain Son Heung-min had trouble, and in the process, the internal strife of the national team, including Son Heung-min's dislocation of his finger, was widely reported.

In fact, the so-called table tennis gate between Son Heung-min and Lee Kang-in at the Asian Cup was first reported through the British media The Sun, and the Korea Football Association recognized it unusually quickly, raising controversy. Since then, Lee Kang-in has visited London, England, and apologized directly to Son Heung-min, along with an apology saying, "I did something I should never do at the meal." Coach Klinsmann was criticized for mentioning the conflict between Son Heung-min and Lee Kang-in during the Asian Cup several times in various foreign media interviews after being replaced as the head coach of the Korean national team.

The Football Channel said, "South Korea has since started again under Hong Myung-bo in July 2024 after under interim coach Hwang Sun-hong. He succeeded in playing in 11 consecutive World Cups, but his performance is still not good, he said. "South Korea lost to Brazil 0-5 in October last year. Japan's 3-2 victory over Brazil four days later was the result of a huge crumpling of pride as a rival. "South Korea continues to take a contrasting step with Japan, which is highly regarded worldwide, including a 0-4 defeat to Ivory Coast last month," he added.

What is even more regrettable is that the Japanese media's analysis is not a one-sided argument or a wrong fact, but facts that are difficult to refute. In particular, the results of an audit by the Ministry of Culture, Sports and Tourism revealed that Klinsmann, who was pointed out as the starting point for the fall of Korean soccer, was wrong from the process of appointing the Korea Football Association. The strong public criticism of the national soccer team itself as well as its performance after the head coach Hong Myung-bo's system is also in contrast to Japan. On the contrary, Japan is attracting attention from around the world as the World Cup approaches, including beating England for the first time as an Asian country after Brazil last year. In the FIFA rankings, Japan ranked 18th and South Korea 25th, but the gap has widened.

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*This content was translated by AI.