Son under pressure to save South Korea

South Korea’s Son Heung-min is bearing the weight of expectation at the World Cup just as heavily as Mohamed Salah, Cristiano Ronaldo and Harry Kane.

For Son and South Korea, the pressure is shared in the kind of unequal measure that perhaps only Salah would know with Egypt, before his own tournament was hampered by injury.

South Korea are teetering on the brink too, after a 1-0 defeat by Sweden left them needing at least a draw, and probably a win, against Mexico on Saturday to keep any hopes of progressing from Group F alive.

Son blamed himself for the opening loss. “I’m still disappointed about my performance,” he said.

“I feel very, very sorry for my team-mates because if we don’t score, it’s my fault, because I need to take the responsibility.”

Responsibility is one take, pressure another. Son is a star in his home country, to the extent he has to wear a disguise when he leaves the house and Korean journalists are employed in London, where they wait to speak to the forward after every Tottenham fixture in the Premier League.