Son Heung-min has raised hopes of a return to action against Singapore by participating in team training, unlike his last A-match call-up in October.
The South Korean national soccer team, led by head coach Jürgen Klinsmann, called up its players on Wednesday afternoon for the second round of Asian qualifiers for the 2026 FIFA World Cup North America. Klinsmann’s men will face Singapore at the Seoul World Cup Stadium on Sept. 16 before traveling to China to take on the Chinese national team on Sept. 21.
On the second day of the call-up, the squad was complete. On the first day of the call-up, on July 13, some players were unable to train. Only 11 players trained, including Son Heung-min (Tottenham Hotspur) and Hwang Hee-chan (Wolverhampton). Others, such as Lee Kang-in (PSG) and Kim Min-jae (Bayern Munich), stayed at the hotel to train and rest due to the distance they had to travel.
This was the first day that all 23 players were together. The team arrived at the training center in good spirits, especially captain Son Heung-min. He walked onto the field shoulder-to-shoulder with Seol Young-woo (Ulsan Hyundai) and chatted with him.
He also trained with the team. He was grouped with Kim Min-jae, Lee Kang-in, Hwang Eui-jo, Lee Jae-sung, and Hwang Hee-chan. Son even showed off his lightness and speed in step drills.
It’s a far cry from the atmosphere at the A-Match in October. Heung-min was not in good shape when he was called up to the national team in October. At the time, Heung-min trained privately to improve his condition before the match against Tunisia.
Injury issues In October, Son played through the league schedule amid injury concerns. He didn’t play a full game for three consecutive matches against Liverpool and Luton Town, starting in the sixth round against Arsenal. He was faced with the prospect of playing two A-match games after a long flight.
In the end, Klinsmann decided to give Son a rest against Tunisia, considering his fitness. He was named to the substitutes’ bench but didn’t play. Against Vietnam, he was expected to come on as a substitute. However, Heung-min was named to the starting lineup and played the full game. After the game, Klinsmann said, “Heung-min expressed his desire to play, so we kept him in the game.” 토토사이트
With his strong commitment to play every game, it’s likely that Son will start against Singapore. Unlike last October, he is in better shape. The upcoming Asian Football Confederation (AFC) 2023 Asian Cup in Qatar is just over two months away.
“The goal (for the Asian Cup) is to win,” Klinsmann said at a media conference on Nov. 13. There are a lot of good teams in Japan, Australia, the Middle East. It will help us internally to have a clear goal to win. World Cup qualification is also very important. We will prepare seriously,” he said, adding that the team will give their all against Singapore and China.