Champions League Round of 16 Fateful
Takefusa Kubo, who sent a birthday message in Korean on the occasion of Lee Kang-in’s birthday in February.
Paris Saint-Germain PSG Lee Kang-in is delighted after scoring a goal in the 2023-24 UEFA Champions League against AC Milan on the 26th.
Lee Kang-in Paris Saint-Germain, PSG and Takefusa Real Sociedad, both of whom were born in 2001 and the same age as each other, will have a showdown over their pride. They will play in the round of 16 strongest teams in the UEFA Champions League.
Lee Kang-in and Gubo were naturally confirmed to face off in the round of 16 as PSG and Real Sociedad were formed at the 2023-24 UEFA Champions League round of 16 draw held at the UEFA headquarters in Nyon, Switzerland on the 18th.
Earlier, PSG finished Group F in second place 2 wins, 2 draws, 2 losses, 8 points and Real Sociedad passed Group D in first place 3 wins, 3 draws, 12 points. The round of 16 matches will be held through a lottery, with the first and second places in each group, and PSG and Real Sociedad will compete.
The round of 16 will be held in a home-and-away manner from mid-February after the transfer window ends in January next month. If there are no major variables such as transfer, Lee Kang-in and Kubo will likely have a “starting face-to-face” match in two UEFA Champions League matches.
Lee Kang-in left during the Valencia youth team and Gubo during the Barcelona youth team.
Lee Kang-in and Takefusa Kubo, who shared a room in Mallorca.
Lee Kang-in and Gubo, who have been attracting attention as the future of Korean and Japanese soccer since childhood, are of the same age and have been active on the Spanish stage early. Lee Kang-in also started his youth career in 2011, while Gubo started in Valencia and Barcelona. Since then, Gubo returned to Japan for a while during FIFA’s youth disciplinary action, and returned to the Spanish stage in 2019, and Lee Kang-in continued to stay in Spain.
Naturally, they were forced to be compared frequently, but they became closer than anyone else in Spain. In particular, Lee Kang-in moved to Mallorca in the 2021-22 season, and Kubo also moved to Mallorca on loan, and they were together for one season. They built a Korea-Japan friendship while working together on and off the ground.
In particular, the two celebrated each other’s birthdays openly on social media. This was the same even after Gubo left for Real Sociedad. Gubo shared a picture with Lee Kang-in, writing “Happy birthday, Hermano” in Korean, and Lee Kang-in also didn’t forget about Gubo’s birthday.
Lee Kang-in’s relationship with Kubo in Spain seemed to be taking a break due to Lee’s transfer to PSG. However, as they faced each other in the round of 16 teams in the UEFA Champions League, which is also the “War of the Stars,” they will face off in a friendship showdown.
Takefusa Kubo, who tapped Lee Kang-in through SNS when the UEFA Champions League round of 16 was confirmed.
Takefusa Kubo, Real Sociedad.
In particular, when the round of 16 match was confirmed, Gubo disclosed the schedule of the showdown with the emblem of the two teams on his SNS, tagging Lee Kang-in’s account. He added an emoticon of shaking hands. Lee Kang-in also responded by posting Gubo’s SNS post on his SNS.
After transferring to PSG, Lee has been solidifying himself as a starting member. His record in this season’s Ligue 1 league is one goal and one assist in nine games nine starts. Kubo is also a key player for Real Sociedad. He played in 16 Primera Liga games 10 starts and accumulated six goals and three assists. PSG ranks first in the French Ligue 1, while Real Sociedad ranks sixth.
Lee Kang-in and Kubo will have their first UEFA Champions League showdown in Paris on February 15 next year. They will then have their second match at Real Sociedad Home on March 6. The results of the first and second matches will be combined to determine whether they will advance to the quarterfinals. PSG will challenge to the quarterfinals for the first time in four seasons since the last 2020-21 season, while Real Sociedad will challenge to the quarterfinals for the first time in 41 seasons since the 1982-83 season during the European Cup, the predecessor of the UEFA Champions League. Only one of Lee Kang-in and Kubo can advance to the quarterfinals.
Bayern Munich’s Kim Min-jae roars after scoring his debut goal against Stuttgart on the 18th.
Germany’s Bayern Munich, which includes Kim Min-jae, will have a showdown with Lazio in the round of 16. Kim, who played for Napoli last season, will face off against a familiar team in the round of 16. The showdown between Bayern Munich and Lazio will take place on the same day as the first and second matches between PSG and Real Sociedad. Bayern Munich ranks second in the German Bundesliga, while Lazio ranks 11th in the Serie A.
Real Madrid of Spain will play Leipzig Germany and Inter Milan of Italy will play Atletico Madrid Spain. Arsenal England will play Porto Portugal and Napoli Italy will play Barcelona Spain. The defending champion Manchester City England will face Copenhagen Denmark.
On the same day, the matches of Europa League Playoff and Europa Conference League Playoff, which are one level lower than UEFA Champions League, were also confirmed. In the Europa League Playoff, Feyenoord the Netherlands, AS Roma Italy, AC Milan Italy and Stade Ren France will face off. In the Europa Conference League Playoff match, KAA Hent, which includes Hong Hyun-suk, will face off against Maccabi Haifa Israel. 스포츠토토
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