'Best Performance in History': Son Heung-min's Perfect Revival "Dramatically Different Right After the World Cup..." U.S. Also Surprised with 'Deluge of Praise'

*This content was translated by AI.

The captain of South Korea's national football team has made a stunning comeback that even surprised experts in the United States. Son Heung-min (34, LAFC), who returned after the conclusion of the 2026 FIFA North American World Cup, delivered a perfect performance that stirred excitement among U.S. observers.

Major League Soccer (MLS) highlighted on its website on the 2nd (Korea time): "Son Heung-min and Thomas Müller shared the spotlight in an intense duel," focusing intensively on Son Heung-min, who has been scoring goals in every match since returning from the World Cup break.

Furthermore, MLS stated: "Although Son Heung-min failed to score in his first 13 matches after the regular season began, he has scored in every game since returning from the World Cup," and added, "Since leaving Tottenham Hotspur last August and joining LAFC for the highest transfer fee in league history, he has undeniably shown the best form."

Son Heung-min's team, LAFC, secured a 1-1 draw against Vancouver Whitecaps in an away match of the 2026 MLS regular-season Round 19 held at BC Place in Vancouver, Canada, on the 2nd (Korea time).

Starting the match and playing the full 90 minutes, Son Heung-min demonstrated overwhelming finishing ability by scoring one goal from three shots and successfully completing one dribble.

The savior for LAFC was Son Heung-min. In the 37th minute of the first half, during an LAFC counterattack, Son Heung-min received a pass from Denis Bouanga inside the penalty box.

His exquisite goal-scoring sense shone brightly. Instead of receiving the ball directly, Son Heung-min skillfully turned his body. After quickly leaving behind the deceived Vancouver defenders and securing shooting space, he attempted a sharp right-footed turning shot, sending the ball straight into the corner of Vancouver's net. It was a lightning-fast shot that even Vancouver's Japanese goalkeeper Yohhei Takao could not stop.

With this goal, Son Heung-min exploded with four consecutive regular-season goals: starting from his return match against LA Galaxy after the North American World Cup, followed by matches against Real Salt Lake and Sporting Kansas City, and now continuing against Vancouver. Including the multi-goal performance in the midweek MLS All-Star Game, he is creating a goal storm in every match.

Meanwhile, Vancouver's veteran Müller responded to Son Heung-min's opening goal. In the 29th minute of the second half, while competing with LAFC defender Yevhen Cheberko inside the penalty box, he drew a foul and earned a penalty kick, then stepped up as the direct kicker and calmly converted it to equalize at 1-1.

Son Heung-min continued his goal-scoring streak in every match since the World Cup with an incredible turning-goal, but LAFC conceded an equalizing goal in the second half, pushing their chance to climb to first place to a later date. The two teams will face each other again on October 10 at BMO Stadium in a return match.

As a result of today's match, LAFC missed its opportunity to leap to the top of the Western Conference standings. Second-place LAFC recorded 10 wins, 4 draws, and 5 losses, while first-place Vancouver recorded 10 wins, 4 draws, and 3 losses, both accumulating 34 points. However, Vancouver has played two fewer matches than LAFC.

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*This content was translated by AI.