Son drives team in
AL RAYYAN, Qatar - South Korea talisman Son Heung-min is still without a goal at this World Cup but he will not care about that after running himself into the ground yesterday to ensure his team reached the last 16 in the most dramatic fashion.
The Asian side simply refused to accept that their World Cup dream was over and it was captain Son who epitomised the Koreans’ relentless energy with a selfless display.
A day after Japan set the tone by stunning Spain 2-1 in their final game to reach the knockout phase on a night of mind-boggling drama, Son made sure South Korea’s fans could kick-start their own party in the Education City Stadium.
The 30-year-old Tottenham Hotspur forward, who has scored 35 goals for his country and is the darling of their fans, who wear his shirt with such pride, has played the whole tournament wearing a black mask to protect a cheek fracture.
With the match locked at 1-1 and the clock ticking into stoppage time, it seemed Son’s and South Korea’s World Cup was about to end in heartbreak with the win they needed to advance about to elude them.
But as he often does for his club, for whom he shared the Premier League Golden Boot last year with Liverpool’s Mohamed Salah, he produced something special when it mattered most.
From a Portugal corner, the ball was cleared and suddenly captain Son found himself in acres of space on the lush turf.
Turning on the afterburners he bore down on goal and then, when it appeared he had been reeled in, Son had the presence of mind to thread a perfect pass to substitute Hwang Hee-chan who calmly slotted his shot past Diogo Costa.
That saw South Korea jump from bottom of the group to second, above Uruguay who beat Ghana 2-0 but were left in third place by virtue of scoring fewer goals than South Korea.
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