Harrison: Playing in his first match for South Korea since his recent move to Major League Soccer (MLS), Son Heung-min looked like his vintage self against the United States, recording a goal and an assist for a 2-0 away victory. With his convincing performance at Sports Illustrated Stadium in Harrison, New Jersey, Son also validated his move to Los Angeles Football Club (LAFC) in MLS.
According to Yonhap News Agency, Son connected with fellow 33-year-old Lee Jae-sung on both goal-scoring plays. In the 18th minute, Son took a through ball from Lee on the left wing as he snuck behind the defense and then scored from a tough angle for a 1-0 lead. Then late in the first half, a give-and-go with Lee found Son in alone on goalkeeper Matthew Freese, who tripped up the South Korean star and allowed the ball to find its way to Lee Dong-gyeong, the Johnny-on-the-spot who scored into the gaping net.
Son left Tottenham Hotspur in August after 10 years with the Premier League club and signed with LAFC. In explaining his decision, Son said he wanted to put himself in the best possible situation to prepare for the 2026 FIFA World Cup, to be co-hosted by the U.S., Mexico, and Canada. Playing his club football in the spring-fall MLS schedule, as opposed to the fall-spring calendar in Europe, will keep Son in midseason form for the World Cup held during the summer -- a not-so-insignificant factor for a player who appears to have lost a step or two in recent years.
As much as playing in MLS may help Son with his World Cup preparation, the fact that he moved to a lesser league also raised concerns that Son would play down to the level of his competition. At least for one match, though, Son dispelled such worries over his 63 minutes of action.
With 52 goals for South Korea, Son now sits six goals back of the country's all-time leader, Cha Bum-kun. And if Son plays against Mexico on Tuesday in Nashville, Tennessee, as expected, he will tie Cha and his current national team boss, Hong Myung-bo, for the most caps for South Korea with 136.
On his goal, Son said his chemistry with Lee worked to perfection. "He always tries to feed me the ball to where I want it, and I was lucky enough to score from that angle," Son said. "That goal allowed us to play more comfortably the rest of the way."
Son insisted the victory was the result of a total team effort, not just his offensive heroics. "I always think about how I can best help the team," the captain added. "And we were able to win today because everyone played so well. I am so proud that we played such a great game and got the result we wanted in an away match. The biggest takeaway is that we all played the way we wanted to play with confidence."