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In the match against Portugal, where Korean football is challenging the hopes of advancing to the round of 16, coach Paulo Bento took out the 'Lee Kang-in selection' card.



Son Heung-min (Tottenham) will face off against Cristiano Ronaldo (independent), whom he has regarded as his 'idol', in his first A match.



Lee Kang-in (Mallorca) was included in Korea's roster announced an hour before the final third leg of Group H of the 2022 Qatar World Cup group stage between Korea and Portugal.



This is the first World Cup start for Lee Kang-in, who was substituted in the second half in succession in the first match against Uruguay (0-0 draw) and the second match against Ghana (2-3 loss).



It is the first time Bento has put Lee Kang-in in the starting lineup since the Korea-Japan match (0-3 loss) in March last year.



Lee Kang-in was substituted in the 12th minute of the second half when Korea was trailing 0-2 in the game against Ghana, and helped Cho Kyu-seong (Jeonbuk)'s pursuit goal in 1 minute.



Cho Kyu-seong, who became the first Korean player to score a multi-goal in the World Cup against Ghana, will start for two consecutive matches.



'Ace' Son Heung-min (Tottenham) and Lee Jae-seong (Mainz) are placed on the left and right of the second line of attack, and Lee Kang-in is the shadow striker.



In-Beom Hwang (Olympiacos) and Woo-Young Jung (Al Sadd) are responsible for the midfield.



On the four-back defense line from left are Kim Jin-soo (Jeonbuk), Kwon Kyung-won (Gamba Osaka), Kim Young-kwon (Ulsan), and Kim Moon-hwan (Jeonbuk), and Kim Seung-kyu (Al-Shabaab) wears the goalkeeper gloves.



Kim Min-jae (Napoli), who started in the first and second matches, was excluded from the starting list for the Portugal match due to a right calf injury sustained in the match against Uruguay.



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In Portugal, Ronaldo, the 'superstar', will start and face Heung-Min Son.



Son Heung-min and Ronaldo have faced off a few times on the professional stage, but this is the first time they face each other in an A-match.



Ronaldo, Ricardo Horta (Braga) and Vitinha (Paris Saint-Germain) will be responsible for Portugal's attack, while midfielders will include João Mário (Benfica), Ruben Neves (Wolverhampton) and Matheus Núños (Wolverhampton).



The four-back defensive line consists of Diogo Dalot (Manchester United), Antonio Silva (Benfica), Pepe (Porto) and Joao Cancelo (Manchester City).



The goalkeeper is Diogo Costa (Porto).



(Photo = Yonhap News)