Lee Seung-won (footballer)

Lee Seung-won (born 6 March 2003) is a South Korean footballer who currently plays as a midfielder for Gangwon.

Club career
Lee played for a number of teams in Yongin in the Gyeonggi Province of South Korea before his performance at the 2021 National High School Competition, where he won the best player award, caught the attention of a number of professional clubs. However, after breaking his toe during a tournament, he was forced to reconsider his options, and eventually enrolled at the Dankook University in 2022.

After playing at Dankook University in the U-League, a number of scouts from K League 1 side Gangwon FC came to watch Lee, as well as club president Lee Young-pyo. At the end of his first university season, Gangwon announced that they had signed Lee ahead of the 2023 season. He played for the reserve team in three K4 League matches in the first half of his first senior season. He could play for the first-string team after showing good performance in the 2023 FIFA U-20 World Cup.

International career
Lee first started representing South Korea at under-19 level in 2022, where he captained the side at a friendly tournament in Lisbon, Portugal. He was called up to the under-20 side in January 2023, for a training camp in Murcia, Spain. The following month, coach Kim Eun-jung called him to the side for the 2023 AFC U-20 Asian Cup, where he was named captain.

In the first match, a 4–0 win over Oman, Lee dribbled the ball and provided an assist to Kim Yong-hak to make the opening goal after intercepting opponent's misplaced pass. Having progressed from their group, South Korea faced China in the quarter-finals, but this game saw Lee leave the field early due to injury. South Korea qualified for the 2023 FIFA U-20 World Cup by reaching the semi-finals after a win over China. Following his injury in the game against China, Lee absented in the semi-final loss on penalties to the eventual champions Uzbekistan.

Lee retained the captaincy of the under-20 side for the 2023 FIFA U-20 World Cup. He had one goal and one assist in the opening game, a 2–1 win over France. Following two draws against Honduras and the Gambia, including an assist in the former, he notched his third assist of the tournament in a 3–2 win over Ecuador in the round of 16. South Korea then beat Nigeria 1–0 after extra time in the quarter-final, with Lee providing an assist for defender Choi Seok-hyeon to score the winning goal. Lee scored on a penalty kick each in a 2–1 semi-final loss to Italy and a 3–1 third place play-off loss to Israel. Contributing to South Korea's seven goals, he received the Bronze Ball, awarded to the third-best player of the tournament.

Honours
Individual
 * FIFA U-20 World Cup Bronze Ball: 2023