Should national soccer team coach Hong Myung-bo play two “A-match” games in October, which will be a watershed moment, without Son Heung-min? The Korea Football Association, which already has to go through a number of issues including hearings, announcement of audit by the Ministry of Culture, Sports and Tourism, and parliamentary inspection afterwards, can only survive if the national team scores at least, but without Son Heung-min, it would be an emergency.
Son Heung-min’s injury puts not only coach Hong Myung-bo but also the Korea Football Association on alert.
Tottenham Hotspur defeated Manchester United 3-0 in the sixth round of the 2024-2025 English Premier League at Old Trafford in Manchester, England, at 12:30 a.m. on Thursday (Korea time). Tottenham captain Son Heung-min was excluded from the list due to his injury in the last game.
Three minutes into the first half, Mickey van der Ben helped Brennan Johnson to score the first goal after a crazy run from the left after an interception success. In the 42nd minute of the first half, Manchester United captain Bruno Fernandes was sent off directly for an unnecessary deep tackle and the game tilted.
Tottenham won a 3-0 victory with a goal from Dejan Kulusevski, who was helped by Johnson in the opening two minutes of the second half, and Dominic Solanki scored a turning header from a corner kick attack in the 32nd minute of the second half.
Son Heung-min, who was replaced by a hamstring injury during the Europa League game on the 27th, was taken off the list and rested. It is the first time in nearly two years that Son Heung-min missed a league game since he missed two games just before the 2022 Qatar World Cup due to an orbital fracture on November 1, 2022.
In other words, Son Heung-min, the “steel king” who has always played games, is so injured that he cannot even play games at all. Of course, we have to wait and see what happens next, but Son’s injury is great news not only for Tottenham but also for the national team.
Coincidentally, Korean national soccer team coach Hong Myung-bo will announce the A-match roster for October on Tuesday morning. The team will play away matches in Jordan on October 10 and the third and fourth rounds of the third qualifying round for the 2026 World Cup in Iraq and the U.S. at home on October 15. If captain Son Heung-min fails to play due to injury, the team will be in the top crisis.
The whole nation already felt how great Son Heung-min’s influence on the national team was with Son Heung-min’s heroic performance of one goal, two assists and one assist in Oman on the 17th. If it wasn’t for Son Heung-min’s performance at the time, Hong Myung-bo, who had a shock 0-0 draw against Palestine at home, 메이저놀이터 would have been wrecked from the start. Son Heung-min kept Hong Myung-bo alive.
Coach Hong Myung-bo said, “The Korea Football Association is in the biggest crisis. Chairman Chung Mong-kyu, head coach Hong Myung-bo, and general director Lee Im-saeng were called to the National Assembly on the 24th to question pending issues in the Ministry of Culture, Sports and Tourism, and were criticized by lawmakers, showing their complacency in the process and administration of the coach’s appointment. With the national trust at a time when the national trust has hit rock bottom since the hearing, if Son Heung-min, the key player, cannot make it, it will be an emergency.
Coach Hong Myung-bo and the Korea Football Association, who can be swayed by Son Heung-min’s presence.