Son Heung-min (32, Tottenham) visited his fans. He wanted to express his gratitude that he was able to play the game happily thanks to his support.
Son Heung-min expressed his gratitude to his fans for supporting the two consecutive games in the Middle East through his social media account on the 21st (Korea Standard Time).
“Thank you for making the national team happy this year. Although it is sadder than anyone else that we did not win the last match, I believe that this disappointment will make us hungry and grow,” he said. “We were able to have fun and happy matches thanks to many fans in the two away matches. We will come back with good performances from our team and look forward to seeing our national team in March with a healthy face and a smile. Thank you all very much. You are the best in Korea,” he added with a heart emoji.
Son Heung-min was not able to play the A-match in October due to a thigh injury, but the two A-match games in November were normal.
In the 5th Group B match of the third Asian qualifying round for the 2026 FIFA World Cup held on the 14th, he started in Kuwait and scored a penalty to lead South Korea to a 3-1 victory. In order to control his condition, Son Heung-min was replaced by Bae Jun-ho in the 18th minute of the second half and finished the game first.
He played full time in the sixth game against the Palestinians in the “neutral zone” of Jordan on Sunday, and scored an invaluable equalizer to South Korea, which was losing 0-1. The match ended 1-1.
Korea continued its unbeaten streak by garnering four wins and two draws from six matches. It also maintained its No. 1 position in the group with 14 points.
It was regrettable that the match against Palestine, which was at the bottom of Son Heung-min’s group, ended in a draw, but respected the opponent.
“I want to applaud the Palestinian players who did their best even in difficult situations. There is something we need to learn from their passion,” he said in a broadcast interview right after the match. 스포츠토토
The Palestinians are currently in armed conflict with neighboring countries and cannot even hold matches in Korea. Players from both teams paid silent tribute to the war victims at the center line before the match. Despite such chaotic situation, Son showed respect for the Palestinians, who tied 1-1 with South Korea.
Meanwhile, Son scored his 51st A-match goal in total by scoring in the match against Palestine. He has surpassed Hwang Sun-hong, the current coach of Daejeon, to become the sole second-ranked player with the most A-match goals. He is seven goals shorter than Cha Bum-keun, the former coach of the Korean national team (58 goals), who ranks first in all time.
At the same time, Son Heung-min scored 10 A-match goals in 2024 alone, becoming the first player in his career to score double-digit points a year.