It’s a mixed bag for the original European club teams as they cruise to the quarterfinals of the Hangzhou 2022 Asian Games. Fans of the clubs are happy to see them perform well, but they also miss key players such as Lee Kang-in (Paris Saint-Germain), Jung Woo-young (Stuttgart) and Hong Hyun-seok (Gent).
On Feb. 2 (KST), Lee’s clubs PSG (France), Jung Woo-young’s Stuttgart (Germany), and Hong Hyun-seok’s Gent (Belgium) announced on their official social media accounts that the men’s team had advanced to the semifinals of the Hangzhou Asian Games.
“South Korea, led by Lee Kang-in, defeated China 2-0 to advance to the semifinals of the Asian Games,” PSG announced the victory.
Hent also shared a photo of Hong Hyun-seok’s goal, writing, “Hong Hyun-seok does it again, his goal sends South Korea through to the Asian Games semifinals after beating China.” Stuttgart celebrated with a clapping emoji: “Jung Woo-young scored in the 63rd minute to advance to the Asian Games semifinals with the Korean national team.”
Fans of each team responded to the posts with praise for their performances at the Asian Games and questions about whether or not they would be granted full immunity and when they would return.
“Considering his recent injury, it might be perfect for him to get some playing time and adapt (to the game) in a tournament like this,” wrote one PSG fan, while another posted a clip of Lee’s play, calling him a “maestro”.
“His play is fantastic and I wish him success,” said a Gent fan, while another added: “We miss him unbelievably.” A Stuttgart fan wrote: “Very good. Now how high should we go? Is third place enough or do we need to be first?” and asked about the military exemption.
Meanwhile, the Asian Games are not an official FIFA competition, so there are no mandatory appropriation rules. However, at the 2018 Jakarta-Palembang Asian Games, Tottenham (England) allowed Son to play, and his stock rose after he won a gold medal. 레모나토토
It is believed that European teams such as PSG allowed Son Heung-min to play in the Asian Games considering his precedent.
After advancing past the home team, China will play Uzbekistan in the quarterfinals on March 3 at 9 p.m. at the Huanglong Sports Center Stadium in Hangzhou. If they beat Uzbekistan, they will play for gold against the winner of Hong Kong-Japan at 9 p.m. on Sunday.