“I don’t like lying on the pitch for long”.
Jürgen Klinsmann’s South Korea national football team thrashed Singapore 5-0 on Saturday at the Seoul World Cup Stadium in the first match of the second Asian qualifying round for the FIFA Confederations Cup North America 2026.
With the win, South Korea topped Group C in the second round of qualifying and began their quest to qualify for their 11th consecutive World Cup in style. South Korea will now travel to Shenzhen, China, to face China in the second leg on June 21.
It was an easy win. South Korea, ranked 24th in the FIFA rankings, defeated Singapore, ranked 155th, by five goals in their first meeting in 33 years to remain unbeaten in 15 head-to-head matches (14 wins and one draw). Despite a goal disallowed due to a mistake and some bad luck with the goalposts, Cho Kyu-sung opened the scoring in the last minute of the first half and Hwang Hee-chan, Son Heung-min, Hwang Eui-jo and Lee Kang-in scored in the second half. 보스토토 도메인
Captain Son Heung-min got on the scoresheet in the 17th minute of the second half when he picked up the ball in space on the right, beat his defender, and found the corner of the net with a stunning left-footed curler. It was a stunning goal from the so-called ‘Son Heung-min zone’. With this goal, Heung-min took his tally to 39 A-match goals, closing the gap on second-place Hwang Sun-hong (50).
There was a poignant moment. Son was brought down by a harsh foul from Shahid Shahiran in the second half of a 4-0 win. He was kicked hard in the knee and lay on the pitch for a while in pain. It was unclear if it was a serious injury. The medical team rushed in to check his condition.
Luckily, Heung-min was able to get up after a while and play the full game. After the game, Heung-min said, “I couldn’t feel my foot for a bit. I can’t give up the game just because I’m sick. If I can’t play, I can’t help it, but as long as I can play, I will do my best for the team. I’m fine now,” he reassured fans.
Klinsmann didn’t hide his anger after the game either. When asked about Son Heung-min, he said, “I was angry when I saw him foul at 4-0. It was an inappropriate and unnecessary foul. Did he have to do that? I was very angry in the moment,” he said.
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