South Korea national soccer team midfielder Lee Jae-sung (Mainz) has vowed to get a win for head coach Jürgen Klinsmann and the fans.

In a pre-match interview at the Daejeon World Cup Stadium on Aug. 18, the midfielder said he wants to give Klinsmann his first win and make the fans happy.

The South Korean national soccer team, led by Klinsmann, will play a friendly against El Salvador at Daejeon World Cup Stadium at 8 p.m. on Sept. 20. The Taegeuk Warriors, including Lee Jae-sung, are in high spirits ahead of the match against El Salvador, as they lost 0-1 against Peru at the Busan Asiad Stadium on March 16.

Coach Klinsmann, who started leading the national team in March, has yet to taste the joy of his first victory. After a 1-1 draw in the two-game Colombia-Uruguay series in March, followed by a loss to Peru, Lee hopes to give Klinsmann his first win against El Salvador.

Here’s what Lee had to say

-I think there was a lot of talk within the squad about the poor result against Peru.

We’re disappointed that we didn’t win, but we’re not too worried because there are always difficulties when starting under a new coach. Even today, we had a video meeting before training and the manager and coaches told us what we need to work on. I think we will get better because we are preparing to do well against El Salvador. The players have high expectations, so they are not worried.

-Klinsmann on the delay in getting his first win since taking over the Korean national team.

The players’ mindset is the same as always. From the first game (after Klinsmann’s appointment), we tried to win, and we wanted to win the last game against Peru, but it’s a little disappointing that the result didn’t go our way. I think the process is more important now than the result. I’m not thinking too much about it because we’re trying to get a result in Qatar (Asian Cup). Against El Salvador, the fans want to see us win, so we are preparing for that.

-There was some talk about not winning against Peru because we were missing some players, and I think there was some pride among the players.

I don’t think it’s ego, I think it’s because we didn’t win as a team. I think it’s up to the players to work better as a team than as individuals, to do what the coach asks of them, to communicate with each other, and to do a good job so that there won’t be such talk in the future.

-Kwon used a 4-4-2 formation against Peru, playing alongside Lee Kang-in in the left flank midfield position. Is there a difference between playing with Kwon Chang-hoon under Shin Tae-yong in the past?

That was the case under Shin Tae-yong, but now Coach Klinsmann always asks the second-stringers to switch and play freely, so the players are comfortable playing in any position. It’s up to the players to continue to work together and find the right spot, and the coach is trying to find it for them.

-We have younger players like Hong Hyun-seok on the national team. I’d like to ask you what it’s like to play with them as a senior member of the national team.

In the last game against Peru, (Hong) Hyun-seok and many other players made their debut or played for the national team for the first time in a long time, and I think they can do a better job for the national team in the future. I think they definitely felt it more. I hope this will give them a chance to develop more personally, so that they can do better for the national team, and I’ll try to help them as a senior on the sidelines.안전놀이터

-In that sense, Lee Kang-in has stepped up to the plate, but I think he feels a lot of pressure.

I’m not a player who has felt that kind of pressure, so I can’t really understand it, but I hope (Lee) doesn’t feel too much pressure here on the national team. I think it’s the role of the seniors to be around him to help him enjoy his abilities and show them on the field, and I hope he feels comfortable because that’s his role as a senior.