“Captain” Son Heung-min wants to go beyond the record of senior national team coach Hwang Sun-hong (currently Daejeon Hana Citizen) and approach the record of former coach Cha Bum-keun.
The South Korean national soccer team, led by head coach Hong Myung-bo, will play against Palestine at Amman International Stadium in Jordan on the 19th (Korea time) in Group B of the third Asian qualifying round for the 2026 North-China World Cup.
Currently, South Korea is in the lead with four wins and one draw (13 points), while Palestine is at the bottom with two draws and three losses (2 points).
The match will take place in a neutral zone. Currently, the Palestinians are at war. They will move to Jordan, a neighboring country, for their safety.
The Palestinians were against the first team when Hong Myung-bo was launched in September. In the schedule that started the third qualifying round, the team had a 0-0 draw due to poor performance. The team had no choice but to start amid concerns rather than expectations.
Since then, the team has won in all of its second and fifth games. It gained no loss in the third round and garnered four consecutive wins, boosting the mood. In their second showdown, they are committed to continuing their upward trajectory.
Son Heung-min, who returned from the A-match in October due to injury, will try to make the A-match milestone once again following the match against Kuwait on the 14th. Son Heung-min scored his 50th A-match goal by scoring a penalty kick against Kuwait.
This will match Hwang’s A-match record of the second highest number of goals scored in history. If Hwang scores more than one goal in the match against Palestine, he will rise to the second place alone, beating Hwang.
Now, I want to catch up with the record set by Cha Bum-kun, the former coach who has the most goals scored. Son has eight goals to spare to set the current record. Son, who has displayed robust performance even at the age of 30, is likely to break this record again next year at the earliest. 메이저놀이터
Son wants to set a new personal record. This year, Son is tying his personal record with nine A-match goals. If he scores in the upcoming match, he will score his first double-digit goal.
Managing the playing time of Son is still a hot topic. Earlier, Son joined the team in an unstable situation due to the aftermath of his injury at his club, Tottenham. Coach Enze Postecoglou said he would like to see Son in good health, while coach Hong Myung-bo also said he has no plan to overdo it considering his physical condition.
Son started the match against Kuwait and played for about 65 minutes. He plans to adjust the playing time for “healthy Son Heung-min.”
However, Son showed strong motivation to play. “My team and the national team showed interest and protection. My physical condition is so good. I am back to my normal condition. I will try my best to show you 100 percent in the next match,” Son said after the match against Kuwait.