South Korea advance in Asian WC qualifying

SEOUL, June 13, (AP): Son Heung-min sent a message of support to former Tottenham Hotspur teammate Christian Eriksen on Sunday after his second-half penalty gave South Korea a 2-1 win over Lebanon in Asia’s second round of World Cup qualifying.

Sonny Saad gave Lebanon a surprise lead in Goyang after just 12 minutes but it was erased early in the second half by a Song Min-kyu header.

Son converted a penalty in the 66th minute and appeared to say “Chris, stay strong’’to television cameras in a message of support for Eriksen who collapsed on the field while playing for Denmark in a European championship game against Finland on Saturday.

Son’s goal, his first for his country since 2019, means that South Korea are one of the eight group winners who will progress automatically to the third round, scheduled to start in September. Lebanon will have to wait until the second round ends on Tuesday to find out if they go into the next stage as one of the best four runners-up.

Advancing a one of the top runners-up is also the only way China can add to their sole World Cup appearance in 2002. A win over Group A leaders Syria on Tuesday will be enough but a draw will leave the team needing results in other groups to go its way.

“We know what we have to do,” said China coach Li Tie after his team’s 5-0 thrashing of the Maldives on Friday, their third successive win. “We know that Syria are strong team but the players are looking forward to the challenge. Everything is going as planned.”

SOCCER

Iran, seeking a third successive World Cup appearance,are also in second place and need a win over Group C leaders Iraq in Bahrain to be sure of advancing. After losing to Iraq and Bahrain in November 2019, Iran have returned to form with three comfortable wins this month, the most recent a 10-0 beatdown of Cambodia on Friday.