South Korea's top football star Son Heung Min is injured and is uncertain to participate in the two international friendly matches of the Korean team against Tunisia and Vietnam.
 |
| Son Heung Min greets fans while practicing with the Korean team on October 10. |
According to South Korea's Yonhap newspaper, Son Heung Min suffered a groin injury while playing for Tottenham Hotspur (England). This player missed training with the Korean team yesterday (October 11).
This injury means that the number 1 star of Korean football, who is also one of the top stars of Asian football, will not be able to play in the two friendly matches with the Tunisian team tomorrow (October 13), as well as the match against the Vietnamese team on October 17.
Both of these matches were played at home by Korea.
Even at the present time, coach Jurgen Klinsmann (German) has already planned a replacement for Son Heung Min in the 2 upcoming friendly matches. The replacement player could be striker Jeong Woo Yeong, the number 1 scorer of the recent 19th ASIAD, with 8 goals.
Jeong Woo Yeong is also one of the four players who just won the ASIAD and were called up to the Korean national team to prepare for two friendly matches against Tunisia and Vietnam. The other three players include midfielder Lee Kang In, Hong Hyun Seok and defender Seol Young Woo.
Among them, Lee Kang In is an attacking midfielder currently playing for Paris Saint Germain (France).
In addition to Son Heung Min, another Korean football star is injured and is uncertain to play in the upcoming two friendly matches, that is winger Hwang Hee Chan of Wolverhampton Wanderers (England). Hwang Hee Chan has a hamstring injury.
The goal of the Korean team is to win two matches against Tunisia and Vietnam this October, creating mental momentum, before they participate in the 2026 World Cup qualifiers in Asia.
The 2026 World Cup qualifiers will begin on November 16 (South Korea is in Group C with China, Thailand and the winner of the match between Singapore and Guam).
South Korea is currently ranked 26th in the world, Tunisia is ranked 29th and the Vietnamese team is ranked 95th in the world.
Coach Klinsmann shared the reason for choosing the Vietnamese team. He said: "I always want to compete with strong teams like Argentina, Brazil, England. I never want to meet weaker opponents.
However, during the preparation for the Asian Cup, we wanted to choose an Asian team to test. Finally, I decided to choose the Vietnam team.
In the near future, the Korean team will have to face many teams in Asia. I think playing with the Vietnamese team will help me prepare well for this."
In the 2023 Asian Cup, the South Korean team is in Group E with Jordan, Bahrain and Malaysia. Meanwhile, in the second round of the 2026 World Cup qualifiers, they will face China, Thailand and the winner of the play-off match between Singapore and Guam.
Source
Comment (0)