Son Heung-min's anger, because of the 'mask nightmare' four years ago... 84 days before the World Cup, murder tackle "I almost cried blood again."

*This content was translated by AI.

South Korea's national soccer team's "captain" Son Heung-min (34, LA FC) was unusually angry during the game. With the opening of the 2026 2026 FIFA North and Central America World Cup just around the corner, a nightmare may have occurred four years ago.

Son Heung-min overcame the injury crisis in the second leg of the round of 16 of the 2026 North American Caribbean Football Confederation (CONCACAF) Champions Cup against Alahuelense at the Estadio Alejandro Morela Soto in Costa Rica on the 18th (Korea time).

In the process of Son Heung-min breaking into the opponent's camp, Alahuelense defender Aaron Salazar tackled Son Heung-min excessively regardless of the ball, and Son Heung-min collapsed painfully. Son Heung-min, who was extremely angry, immediately kicked off his seat and ran to Salazar and pushed him in the face and strongly protested. Eventually, the situation calmed down after the referee gave everyone a yellow card.

The reason why Son Heung-min was angry is related to his painful memory four years ago. The South Korean national soccer team, led by head coach Hong Myung-bo, will play its first match against the winner of the European Playoff (PO) in the group stage of 2026 FIFA North and Central America World Cup on June 12. As there are only 85 days left until the competition, managing the team's condition and preventing injuries are the most important.

In particular, Son Heung-min suffered a major injury of an orbital fracture during a UEFA Champions League (UCL) match against Marseille in November, just before the opening of the 2022 Qatar World Cup. At that time, he wore a face mask and played all three games in the group stage and the match against Brazil in the round of 16, showing his injury, but it is a dizzying memory that his participation in the World Cup itself was almost canceled.

There is also an opinion that Son Heung-min managed to play in the World Cup, but he was unable to fully demonstrate his skills as he played with a mask.

In fact, Son Heung-min could have been angry enough because he almost hurt his ankle seriously ahead of the tournament, which is likely to be the last World Cup stage of his career.

Recently, Hwang In-beom (Feyenoord) and Won Doo-jae (Cor Pacan) of the national team's core midfield have been injured, and the national team has been issued an "injury alert." Fortunately, Son Heung-min played the rest of the day safely and avoided major injuries. Fans desperately want Son Heung-min to take the stage in North Korea and Central America in his best condition without injury for the rest of the year.

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*This content was translated by AI.