유지호
| 2022-03-24 22:20:06
World Cup qualifier-player
Captain Son Heung-min rises to occasion before sellout crowd in World Cup qualifier win
By Yoo Jee-ho
SEOUL, March 24 (Yonhap) -- Son Heung-min is that special athlete who always seems to come through in big moments, when the spotlight is the brightest.
Son, captain of the South Korean men's national football team, delivered a jaw-dropping goal that brought 64,375 fans to their feet at Seoul World Cup Stadium on Thursday, helping his team get past Iran 2-0 in a World Cup qualifying match.
This was South Korea's first win over Iran since January 2011. They had managed three draws and four losses since then. And in front of the largest crowd in a sports event here during the COVID-19 pandemic, Son pushed South Korea to first place in Group A of the final Asian World Cup qualification round, with Iran falling to second place.
Son's football skill is one thing, but his sense of occasion and flair for the dramatic are something else. His goal came during injury time in the first half and gave South Korea a lead that they deserved, considering the way the first half played out.
South Korea kept getting the ball deep into the attacking zone without anything to show for all that work. And with the clock ticking down toward halftime, Son pounced on a loose ball in the Iranian zone and fired a shot from just outside the box.
With four Iran players closing in on him, Son still got enough behind the shot that goalkeeper Amir Abedzadeh failed to squeeze the ball as both he and the ball fell into the net.
Son ran toward the far corner of the stadium behind the net and let out a primal scream as he jumped and pumped his fist -- more animated than usual.
It was Son's 31st goal in his 97th international match, and his fourth in the final World Cup qualification round.
Son nearly had his second goal in the opening moments of the second half, though Abedzadeh denied him from point-blank range following an Iran miscue in their own zone.
Son had a couple of more scoring chances. In the 71st minute, Son lost his balance and fell as he attempted a volley in the goalmouth. About a dozen minutes later, Kim Tae-hwan found Son open in the box, but the captain's shot went off a leg of an Iranian player and flew well past the net.
"We should have been able to win by more goals," Son said in a televised interview after the match. "I'd be lying if I said I wasn't exhausted (after flying in from England on Tuesday). But this is a special opportunity for me to play in front of home fans. And my teammates helped me finish the match."
Son has become noticeably more aggressive with his shot selection in international play. It is now difficult to believe this was the same player who, not so long ago, was criticized for not taking enough shots and deferring to his teammates too much.
"I think I got lucky with the goal," Son said. "I struck the ball well, but the goalkeeper could have saved it. It's always great to score late in the first half, because it gave us good momentum heading into the second half."
Whenever he is asked about his goal scoring, Son says all the right things -- about how he would rather not focus on any individual glory and how he only wants to help his teammates play better.
Son stuck to the same tune in his prematch press conference Wednesday. He said he was only concerned about helping the team win and entertaining fans.
And with his thunderous strike, Son took care of both.
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