Second-place finish in group stage means South Korea face tough route to the final
Son Heung-min says South Korea face a tough run to the Asian Games final after failing to top their group and have to overcome fellow regional heavyweights Iran for a place in the quarter-finals.
Son’s volley in a 1-0 win against Kyrgyzstan yesterday fired his team into the last16 clash, but South Korea had to settle for runner-up in Group E. They finished level on six points with Malaysia, who surprisingly topped the group following a shock 2-1 win over South Korea last week.
Son, 26, warned his young teammates they will need to be more clinical in front of goal against the tournament’s topranked team.
“The Iran team are very strong. We need to prepare very well,” Son said.
“We are all professional players, so they should learn by themselves – I don’t think I need to say anything to them.
“But we know what we need to improve on for the next game.”
The Tottenham Hotspur winger has an added incentive for wanting to win gold in Indonesia: nothing less will be enough to exempt Son from his 21-month compulsory military service. Victory against Iran on Thursday would likely see South Korea face a highly-rated Uzbekistan side in the quarter-finals.
“Iran and another strong team Uzbekistan could both be the champion for this tournament,” Son added. “We all have the chance to get the gold medal.” Son is playing at the Asian Games after being granted special permission by Tottenham, with whom he signed a new five-year contract last month.
He is one of three wild cards – players aged over 23 – selected to play in the U23 tournament.
Iran’s senior team are Asia’s top-ranked side, standing at 33 in Fifa’s rankings, and impressed despite being in a tough World Cup group featuring Spain and Portugal.
Uzbekistan, who won Asian Games gold in 1994, play Hong Kong in the last 16 having won every group game without conceding a goal.
South Korea manager Kim Hak-bum echoed his star forward’s warnings, describing Iran as “powerful”.
“Every match could be our last match,” Kim added.
The UAE meet Games hosts Indonesia in the last 16 on Friday. The rest of the line up is: Palestine v Syria, Vietnam v