Son Heung-min: Playing against strong opponents is a great learning opportunity for South Korea.
2025-11-16 07:29

Goals from Son Heung-min and Cho Gue-sung secured a 2-1 victory for South Korea over Bolivia in a friendly match. South Korean star Son Heung-min expressed his delight at scoring from a free kick, stating that playing against a strong opponent is a valuable learning opportunity for the South Korean national team.
South Korea earned a free kick in the 57th minute of the second half, and Son Heung-min converted the penalty to give South Korea a 1-0 lead.
In the 88th minute, Cho Gue-sung, who replaced Son Heung-min on the bench, gained possession of the ball and, after dealing with the defense, scored to extend South Korea's lead to 2-0.
Ultimately, South Korea defeated Bolivia 2-0 in this friendly match.
It is worth mentioning that Lee Jae-sung, the 33-year-old Mainz midfielder, reached the milestone of his 100th appearance for the South Korean national team last month, and the Korea Football Association even held a special celebration ceremony for him.
South Korean captain Son Heung-min said in an interview, "I'm really happy to score a goal on a special day to celebrate my friend Lee Jae-sung. I'm happy as long as I can help the team, no matter how."
When discussing the process of scoring with a free kick, Son Heung-min shared, "When the ball left my foot, I could feel that there was a chance to score. And then, very luckily, the ball went into the corner of the goal."
"Of course I would like to play for a longer period of time, but there are other players on the team, and the team is always more important than me personally. I respect the manager's decision. We have another game later, and I hope I will be in better shape by then."
In addition, South Korea will face Ghana in their next friendly match, continuing their preparations for the 2026 World Cup.
Son Heung-min continued, "Playing against these strong opponents is a great learning opportunity for our team. Ghana is very physical when they play, and we must be vigilant. We hope to bring excellent results to the fans."
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