Jürgen Klinsmann was pleased with the performance of his players in the final home match of the A-Match of the year.
In particular, he praised Lee Kang-in (Paris Saint-Germain) for his one-goal, one-assist performance in the 5-0 victory.
Klinsmann’s men’s national soccer team cruised to a 5-0 victory on Saturday at Seoul World Cup Stadium 텍사스홀덤 in the first match of Group C of the 2026 North and Central American World Cup Asia Second Qualifying Round.
The victory marked the fourth consecutive home win for the national team in their final A-match of the year.
“I want to praise the players, it wasn’t an easy game, but they were professional and gave it their all,” said Klinsmann after the match. “Against a team like Singapore, who play a two-row defense with five men down, it’s important to stay calm until the first goal, but after the first goal the players showed their quality,” he said.
“When you play against a defensive team, you need players who are creative, players who penetrate into the box, and players who are aggressive, and he did a good job,” he said of Lee Kang-in.
“I’ve been happy to see him grow over the last period of time. I’m sure the people here and the fans are as well,” he said. “It’s great to see him grow and I’m happy for him. It’s good for Korean football, and it’s an honor to be in the national team with a player like him.”
While Klinsmann was generally pleased with the interview, he was upset with the way Son Heung-min (Tottenham) nearly suffered a serious injury in the 35th minute.
“I was angry that he tried to make an unnecessary foul in a 4-0 situation. “I don’t think he should have made that foul when the score was 4-0,” he said.
“There will be difficult games ahead, and I think the dedication that we show in those games can be a great strength for the team,” he said. “You can feel the pain for five minutes, but after that, the players want to score again. I think it’s positive.”