"I struggled because I didn't have Son Heungmin.""No excuse." The winning rate has been higher in the last five years without SON
Oct 10, 2024
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Since the appointment of Paulo Bento after the 2018 World Cup in Russia, there have been a total of 13 A matches in which Son Heung-min has been absent due to injuries. This means that he has not played two to three games a year.
Son Heung-min, who missed the match against Australia and Uzbekistan in November 2018 due to his team's transfer to the Asian Games, was unable to participate in the match against Korea in March 2021 due to a hamstring injury, and the match against Lebanon in September of the same year was played due to a calf injury. In January-February 2022, Lebanon and Syria were excluded from the list due to a hamstring injury, an orbital fracture injury against Iceland in November of the same year, and a sports hernia against Peru in June 2023.
How much influence would the absence of Son Heung-min, who has scored 49 goals (129 games) for 13 years since his debut as a member of the national team in 2011, have had on the national team? Ahead of the third Asian qualifying round for the 2026 North-China World Cup against Jordan at Amman International Stadium in Jordan on the 10th, it is necessary to look carefully at the situation where Son Heung-min has to play without a hamstring injury in his team's game.
After Son Heung-min took over as captain, the record of the games he has missed for the past five years was 9 wins, 2 draws and 2 losses in 13 games, with a winning rate of about 69.2%. They won against Uzbekistan (4-0 wins) in November 2018, Lebanon (1-0 wins) in September 2021, Lebanon (1-0 wins) in January 2022, Syria (2-0 wins) in February 2022, and Tunisia (4-0 wins) in October 2023.
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Of course, there was a game in which Son Heung-min clearly felt the absence. A typical example was the 0-3 defeat by Japan, which was disgraceful. It tied Australia (1-1 draw) and Saudi Arabia (0-0 draw), and lost to Peru 0-1. He scored only one goal in four games.
During the same period, Son Heung-min's winning rate in the game was about 52.5%. He recorded 31 wins, 19 draws and 9 losses in 59 games. Of course, it should be considered that the World Cup and Asian Cup finals, which have a high level of opposing teams, are included.
Son Heung-min was silent in the first match of the third World Cup qualifying round against Palestine last month, but he gave coach Hong Myung-bo his debut victory by leading the team to a 3-1 victory with a golden winning goal in the 38th minute of the second half when the score was 1-1 away from Oman in the second round. He proved through the A-match day in September that he is unrivaled in his finishing ability.
Given Jordan's recent momentum, including a 0-2 victory over South Korea in the semi-finals of the Qatar Asian Cup, and that it is a tricky away match in the Middle East, Son Heung-min's vacancy could be larger than expected.
However, the excuse that the result of the game was not good because Son Heung-min was not present does not work. South Korea and Jordan are ranked 23rd, 68th and 45th, respectively. Even the Jordanian national team's key striker duo, Moussa Altamari and Yazan Al-Naimat, are uncertain to play in the match due to injuries. The hit is worse than one Son Heung-min missing.
Even if Son Heung-min is absent, South Korea is full of European big leaguers such as Lee Kang-in (Paris Saint-Germain), Kim Min-jae (Bayern Munich), and Hwang Hee-chan Lee Jae-sung (Mainz). Even if Jordan is picky with its home advantage, it can be overwhelmed with personal ability.
yoonjinman@sportschosun.com
