Coach Hong Myung-bo is facing a major crisis just three months after his inauguration as the national soccer team. The team will play its third and fourth games of the third Asian qualifying round for the 2026 North-China World Cup without its captain Son Heung-min. In particular, attention is focusing on Hong's plan B, which confirmed his dependence on Son in the first and second games last month, given that his opponent in the third round is Jordan, which is ranked higher than South Korea, and his opponent in the fourth round is Iraq, which received the second highest seed after South Korea in the same group.
The Korea Football Association announced on the 4th that "Son Heung-min was judged to need a rest due to an injury in his left thigh," adding, "In order to protect the players, Hong Hyun-seok was excluded from the national team's call-up list in October and selected as a substitute."
Son Heung-min has recently played in two official matches due to an injury to his hamstring in the back of his thigh. Although he was absent, his injury is not known to be serious, so he thought he would join Hong Myung-bo after playing an away match against Brighton in the English Premier League at 0:30 p.m. on the 7th.
The Korean national team will have an away match against Jordan in the third Asian qualifying round for the 2026 World Cup in Amman, Jordan's capital, at 11 p.m. on Saturday. It will then fly to Korea on a chartered plane and play a home game against Iraq in Yongin at 8 p.m. on Saturday.메이저놀이터
It is a necessary condition for Son Heung-min to perform properly ahead of the two consecutive games against tricky opponents, but this has not been established.
Son Heung-min's injury can be traced back to the first home game of the 2024-2025 UEFA Europa League against Garabakh (Azerbaijan) on April 27. He gave assist to new Tottenham striker Dominique Solanke's third goal on the day at the 26th minute of the second half, and hesitated on the ground to complain of thigh pain. At the time, when Son Heung-min shot first and the opposing goalkeeper hit it, Solanke shot again to score a goal.
It was recognized as an assist according to Europa League regulations, but Son Heung-min collapsed when shooting first and asked him to replace it himself.
Son was excluded from the Premier League away match against Manchester United on April 30 and was also excluded from the entry in the match against Hungary's prestigious Ferencvaros on April 4. Son did not have one at all in Hungary.
Meanwhile, national team coach Hong Myung-bo included Son Heung-min on the 26-member roster when he announced the list of matches against Jordan and Iraq on April 30. It was only a few hours after Son was absent from the match against Manchester United.
However, at that time, Hong warned that Son could be eliminated in the future. "I personally communicated with him whether he will play or not," he said. "He and the club said that he is not in a situation where he will be able to play right away. We have to wait and see whether Son will play or not."
Coach Hong eventually decided to exclude Son Heung-min before departing for the Middle East on the night of the 6th.
Son Heung-min is a key resource that is indispensable to the Korean national soccer team. Despite repeated visits by coaches and provisional managers since the 2018 Russia World Cup, he has continued to be the focal point of the team as captain and is also the best in offense in the team. Since the inauguration of Hong Myung-bo, he has played as the starting player on the left wing in both matches, and in the second match of the third qualifying round against Oman, he scored one goal and two assists, becoming the driving force behind the team's 3-1 victory. His left-footed turning shot, which he hit when he felt a sense that the team would end up drawing a 1-1 draw against Oman in the second match, has become a cornerstone to save Hong, who was mired in controversy over the process of appointing him in the early days of his inauguration.
Coach Hong also explained that excluding Son Heung-min is a long-term plan for the World Cup finals.
"Son Heung-min has had a hard time going back and forth between the national team and his team. It is important now, but his condition and physical strength will continue to be very important," Hong said while announcing the list of the national team to play in the third and fourth rounds of the World Cup qualifiers. "I will find a way for the player to do well without trying too hard."
Coach Hong first expressed his willingness to use Son Heung-min as a key player at the 2026 World Cup, which will turn 34 years old.
Hong did briefly unveil "Plan B" at a press conference on June 30. Fortunately, the national team has abundant second-line attack resources that are highly active in Europe, and it can fill the void left by Son Heung-min to a certain extent if the two sides join forces.
Coach Hong said, "Son Heung-min's position can be played by several players. Hwang Hee-chan, Bae Jun-ho, and Lee Jae-sung are available."
Hwang Hee-chan, who is currently playing in the Premier League along with Son Heung-min, took the "No. 10" position as an attacking midfielder in Oman's away game and scored the first goal in the first 10 minutes of the first half, but his original position is to break through as a side striker. The concern is that his performance has not been good recently for his team, Wolverhampton.
Lee Jae-sung, who plays for Mainz, Germany, produced offensive points after Son Heung-min and Lee Kang-in (PSG), and is ripe for his seventh year in the Bundesliga, and he can play the left wing position where Son Heung-min mainly plays. The concern is that Lee Jae-sung can also be in jagged condition because he is the same age as Son Heung-min.
Bae Jun-ho, who plays for Stoke City in England's second division league, was also excluded from the roster in September, but it seems that Hong has excluded Son from the roster. Bae said, "It is unclear how long the team will play. When the offense continues, Bae is expected to use the Joker.
On top of that, left-footed Lee Kang-in, who has been reborn as a one-two punch with Son Heung-min, is also a "opposite two-footed winger," so the right wing is the main position, but he is also in charge of the left wing, offensive midfielder, and even the front-line striker of the zero-top system in his team, so he is expected to be able to freely move left and right from the national team.
Unfortunately, it may be difficult to use empty spaces this time when opposing defenders mark Son Heung-min two or three times.
Recently, Son Heung-min and Lee Kang-in fired from both sides, making it difficult for opposing players to block attacks in South Korea, but Son Heung-min is not here this time, and he is expected to pay attention to Lee Kang-in's blockade for now.