'Chasing South Korea's World Cup Record for Most Goals' Son Heung-min Joins Hong Myung-bo's Squad Suddenly: "It Might Be My Last..."

*This content was translated by AI.

Hong Myung-bo's squad is gradually approaching its complete form. Captain Son Heung-min (34, LAFC) will suddenly join the South Korean national football team to pursue his fourth consecutive World Cup finals appearance and challenge the all-time record for most goals by a Korean player.

Son Heung-min will join the national team's pre-camp in Salt Lake City, Utah, USA, on the 25th (local time) after completing his club schedule with Major League Soccer (MLS) team LAFC. Earlier, Son Heung-min played the full 90 minutes in a home match against Seattle Sounders the previous day, leading LAFC to a 1-0 victory, and immediately moved to the national team camp.

On this day, Son Heung-min was joined simultaneously by Hwang Hee-chan (Wolverhampton Wanderers) and Park Jin-seop (Zhejiang FC). Kim Min-jae (Bayern Munich) is scheduled to join on the 27th, and Lee Kang-in (Paris Saint-Germain) will join last on the 1st of next month.

The purpose of the national team setting up a pre-camp in Salt Lake City is thorough high-altitude adaptation. Located at an altitude of approximately 1,460 meters, Salt Lake City has conditions such as temperature, humidity, and time zone that are very similar to Guadalajara, Mexico, which serves as the base camp for the North, Central America, and Caribbean World Cup and will host the first and second group stage matches. The national team will play two friendly matches at Brigham Young University's BYU South Field here: against Trinidad and Tobago at 10 a.m. on the 31st, and against El Salvador at 10 a.m. on June 4. Afterward, the team will suddenly move to the base camp in Guadalajara, Mexico, on June 5. Following this, they will face Czech Republic in the first group stage match of Group A on June 12, followed by Mexico on the 19th and South Africa on the 25th.

Through this tournament, Son Heung-min will step onto the World Cup finals stage for the fourth consecutive time since the 2014 Brazil tournament, alongside goalkeeper Kim Seung-gyu (FC Tokyo). The record for the most World Cup appearances by a Korean player is held by four individuals: Hong Myeong-bo (CEO) team coach, Hwang Sun-hong Daejeon Hana Citizen coach, and Lee Woon-jae, coach of the Vietnam national team. Among them, only Coach Hong has actually appeared in matches. If Son Heung-min participates in this tournament's matches, he will stand shoulder to shoulder perfectly with Coach Hong.

At the same time, the team is also targeting the all-time record for most goals by a Korean player in the World Cup. Currently tied with Ahn Jung-hwan and Park Ji-sung with three career World Cup goals, Son Heung-min will become the all-time leading Korean goal scorer with just one additional goal in this tournament. Furthermore, he could even challenge the record of Japan's Keisuke Honda (4 goals), who holds the record for the most goals by an Asian player.

This season, Son Heung-min has recorded nine assists in 14 league matches for his club. Compared to last season, where he scored nine goals and provided three assists in 10 matches, his assist numbers have increased significantly, but he has yet to fire his goal-scoring machine.

Earlier, regarding his participation in the North, Central America, and Caribbean World Cup, Son Heung-min said, "I don't know if this will be my last World Cup," but added, "Whenever I think about the World Cup, I feel like I become a child again. No matter which World Cup it is, my passion remains the same as the first time. As a player, going to the World Cup four times carries a great sense of responsibility, but it is also an immense honor."

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*This content was translated by AI.