Director Enrique's farewell gift? PSG Lee Kang-in is the first Korean to score a PK goal at the Club World Cup, and a kicker appeared after a substitution. Consideration before the sale

Jun 16, 2025

Director Enrique's farewell gift? PSG Lee Kang-in is the first Korean to score a PK goal at the Club World Cup, and a kicker appeared after a substitution. Consideration before the sale



Director Enrique's farewell gift? PSG Lee Kang-in is the first Korean to score a PK goal at the Club World Cup, and a kicker appeared after a substitution. Consideration before the sale
Did he give you a "goodbye gift".

Lee Kang-in of Paris Saint-Germain (PSG) scored for the first time this year. It was on a fairly large stage. He became the first Korean to score a goal at the FIFA Club World Cup.

It's something to celebrate, but I don't feel good about it. It feels as if Luis Enrique and PSG drove a farewell gift to Lee Kang-in ahead of the sale. This is because Lee Kang-in was given a chance when the penalty kick came out at a time when the score difference was wide.




Lee Kang-in scored in the first Group B match against Atletico Madrid in the 2025 FIFA Club World Cup group stage at the Rose Bowl Stadium in Pasadena on the morning of the 16th (Korea time). In addition to AT Madrid, PSG was assigned to Group B along with Botafogu (Brazil) and Seattle Sounders (USA). Other than AT Madrid, there are no very demanding opponents. Therefore, the results of the first round are quite important.

Director Enrique's farewell gift? PSG Lee Kang-in is the first Korean to score a PK goal at the Club World Cup, and a kicker appeared after a substitution. Consideration before the sale
PSG coach Luis Enrique put in his best efforts from the first round. Khvitsa Kbaratshelia-Gonsalu Hamus-Desire Douero formed the offensive line. Fabian Lewis-Vitinya-Juang Neves then formed the midfield. Four backs are Nunu Mendes - William Pacho - Marquignos - Ashraf Hakimi. The goal was taken by Gianluigi Donnarumma Keeper.

PSG dominated the game from the beginning. In the 19th minute of the first half, Fabian Lewis scored the first winning goal. Luis put Kvaratshelia's pass in front of the arc with a left-footed strong shot into the goal. Then, Vitinha's net goal was scored in the first half's extra time. Again, Kvaratshelia's pass became the starting point. Vitinha calmly pushed it into his right foot.




PSG's offensive continued in the second half. Lee Kang-in was replaced by Lewis in the 25th minute of the second half with a 2-0 lead and put on the ground. Lee Kang-in showed diligent movements.

Director Enrique's farewell gift? PSG Lee Kang-in is the first Korean to score a PK goal at the Club World Cup, and a kicker appeared after a substitution. Consideration before the sale
Director Enrique's farewell gift? PSG Lee Kang-in is the first Korean to score a PK goal at the Club World Cup, and a kicker appeared after a substitution. Consideration before the sale
Then, a penalty kick situation occurred at the end of the game when the game was completely over 3-0 by hitting an additional goal by substitute member Mayulu. AT Madrid's Robain-le-Normand fouled a handball. It was around 7 minutes of extra time in the second half. It was actually a game that ended. PSG got a penalty. No matter who kicks it, it doesn't have much influence on the trend.

Here, Lee Kang-in stepped up as a kicker. He calmly scored a goal. This is the first goal scored by PSG this year. Lee Kang-in played a lot as an all-weather player until the early and mid-2025 season, favored by coach Enrique.




However, in the January transfer market, Kravatshelia completely lost her position after moving to PSG for 70 million euros (about 105 billion won). On top of that, when Usman Dembele returned as a major power, Lee Kang-in became a complete surplus power. As a result, he barely played in 2025. During the UEFA Champions League, only one of the seven games from the round of 16 to the final was played.

Director Enrique's farewell gift? PSG Lee Kang-in is the first Korean to score a PK goal at the Club World Cup, and a kicker appeared after a substitution. Consideration before the sale
In the end, Lee Kang-in lifted the Champions League trophy with his teammates, but he is not recognized as a complete winner. This is because he couldn't play in the final at all. He achieved European treble (winning the Champions League, League 1, FA Cup), but was only an assistant role. To paraphrase, it feels like an auxiliary actor in a box office movie with 10 million hits.

Therefore, it was reported one after another that Lee Kang-in would leave PSG after the end of the season. Rather than Lee Kang-in leaving, PSG is trying to sell it. Coach Enrique and the PSG club have nothing more to expect from Lee Kang-in. This is because there are a lot of players with far superior capabilities than Lee Kang-in. In the end, it is reasonable to think that this Club World Cup is actually the last time Lee Kang-in and PSG accompany each other.

Coach Enrique also seems to know that it is the last moment to play in the same team as Lee Kang-in. Therefore, it can be seen as having the courtesy to say goodbye while giving the last penalty chance.

On Lee Kang-in's play on the day, statistical company Sofa Score gave a not bad score of 7.4. He recorded a total of 29 ball touches, and the pass success rate was 92% (26 attempts, 24 successes).





This article was translated by Naver AI translator.