Lee Kang-in PSG, dubbed the “future of Korea-Japan soccer,” and Takefusa Kubo Real Sociedad will meet as enemies in their friendship. They will have a one-logged battle in the round of 16 strongest teams of the UEFA Champions League.

UEFA held a draw for the round of 16 matches of the 2023-2024 UEFA Champions League in Nyon, Switzerland on the 18th.

PSG France, which includes Lee Kang-in, will play against Real Sociedad Spain. Bayern Munich Germany, Kim Min-jae’s team, will compete with Lazio Italy for a ticket to the quarterfinals.

Lee Kang-in and Kubo, the same age, made a Korea-Japan match

The round of 16 draw was made so that the top team in the group, which passed the last 32 group stage, met with the second place. In other words, the team that won the group stage will be given a relative advantage.

PSG had two wins, two draws and two losses in Group F, and narrowly broke through the doomsday group that also includes Dortmund Germany, AC Milan Italy, and Newcastle England, advancing to the round of 16 as the second-ranked team in its group. PSG will face Real Sociedad, the first-ranked in Group D, in the round of 16.

The biggest concern is the reunion of Lee Kang-in and Kubo. Born in 2001, the two players of the same age played together in Mallorca. It is all the more interesting in that they are both left-footed and top prospects representing Korea and Japan.

Lee Kang-in moved to France’s prestigious PSG this summer, seeking new challenges. He can play both left and right wingers and center midfielders, and he is bringing creativity with sophisticated ballkeeping, de-pressure and sharp left-footed kicks.

On the other hand, Gubo is a type that specializes in forward dribbling. He has a common denominator with Lee Kang-in in that he can play in the positions of second-line offensive midfielder and winger.

Lee Kang-in had one goal and one goal in the league and one goal in the UCL. Kubo has scored six goals and three assists in the league and one assist without a goal in the UCL.

Kim Min-jae, who played for Napoli, reunites with Serie A club

Bayern Munich easily secured a berth to the round of 16 teams with five wins and one draw in its Group A match. Lazio, who will face Bayern Munich, had three wins, one draw and two losses to advance to the second place in Group E.

Given its objective strength, Bayern Munich is expected to dominate. It has 11 wins, two draws and one loss 35 points in this season’s league, ranking second after Leverkusen. Notably, Kim Min-jae led his team to the championship in the league for the first time in 33 years by playing for Serie A’s Napoli last season. He was selected as the “Best 11” defenseman of the year in Serie A, and thus engulfed the Italian stage.

Italian teams are naturally familiar with it. He scored an equalizer in the header at the match against Lazio in the fifth round last season, which is a good memory. He has also shown strong performance in defense and led the team to a come-from-behind victory of 2-1. In the 25-round return match, he lost to Lazio 0-1, but struggled to garner the highest GPA in his team. 스포츠토토

Lazio finished second last season, but have been mired in a slump by posting six wins, three draws and seven losses 11th this season. As Daichi Kamada, a former member of the Japanese national team, is also playing an active part in Lazio, chances are high that the team will hold a match between Korea and Japan. Watchers say that Kamada did not meet expectations as he played in 13 league games six starts this season, scored one goal and had no goal in five Champions League games.

Meanwhile, defending champion Manchester City will face Copenhagen Denmark, and Real Madrid Spain, which has the most champions in the Champions League, will face Leipzig Germany. The round of 16 matches between Barcelona Spain, Napoli Italy, Inter Milan Italy and Atlético Madrid Spain are also considered big matches. The round of 16 matches in the Champions League will be held from February 13 next year in a home-and-away manner.