Son Heung-min dares to take off his mask
Son suffered four eye socket cracks and required surgery, after colliding with Chancel Mbemba in Tottenham's match against Marseille in the final round of the Champions League group stage on November 1. He then had to wear a mask both in training and in competition.
But in the last few minutes of the match at Education City yesterday, Son took off his mask and ran while holding it in his hand. The 30-year-old striker admitted after the game that he was reckless in doing so, as it took about three months for the injury to fully recover.
"Actually, I shouldn't have taken it off," South Korean newspaper Jongang Daily quoted Son as saying after the match. "I just had the surgery a month ago, and it took at least three months for the bones to bond. But I still took off my mask at the time, because I had no other choice. Not that the injury was getting better, but I did. still accept the risk".
Korea entered the match with a must-win mentality, and expected Uruguay to overcome Ghana with a sufficient gap in the match at the same time to continue. The Asian representative did not start well when Ricardo Horta conceded a goal in the 5th minute, but equalized Kim Young-Gwon's close-range finish in the 27th minute.
Korea kicked determination and was rewarded in the first minute of compensation. From Portugal's corner, the ball was cleared to Son's position and he dribbled the ball from his own half to the edge of the penalty area. Son could not finish when he was accompanied by three players, but still found a way to poke holes through Diogo Dalot's legs to clear the ground for Hwang Hee-chan to drop down and sink diagonally, setting the score 2-1.
In the other match, Uruguay beat Ghana 2-0 thanks to a double from De Arrascaeta. Korea and Uruguay share four points and a difference of +0. But the Asian representative ranked above Uruguay thanks to more goals (4 vs 3), and followed the leader of the Portuguese group to go on.
Son has yet to score in the 2022 World Cup, but his sprint and assist brought Korea into the 1/8 round to meet Brazilian champion candidate on December 5. "It's not easy to run 70-80m and then pass. If there's space, I'll shoot. But I was surrounded by three or four players and saw Hee-chan running to the left. I didn't have much space. , but the ball still passed and Hee-chan had a good finish," Son said of the decisive goal.
After Korea lost to Ghana and no longer decided to decide for himself, Son burst into tears on the Education City field. Yesterday, Son continued to shed tears, but this time they were tears of happiness. The captain striker said he cried because he was proud of the team spirit. "Not many people thought Korea would win against Portugal. But it's good that the players didn't give up that belief until the end, and won spectacular results," he said.
During halftime, Son told his team-mates to keep the score 1-1 and trust the opportunity to score would come in the second half. The 30-year-old striker wants the whole team to enjoy the victory in the night, then focus on preparing for the match against Brazil from today.
