"Facing Son is a valuable experience," Uzbekistan acknowledges... Praise for Korea's new record of most goals in history: "Son Heung-min surpassed Cha Bum-keun"

*This content was translated by AI.

"Facing stars like Son Heung-min was itself a valuable experience."

The opposing team, Uzbekistan, also acknowledged the presence of Son Heung-min (LAFC). As Son Heung-min, who opened their goal, wrote a new chapter in Korean football history, local media focused on this achievement.

The South Korea national football team defeated Uzbekistan 2-0 in the final match of the September-October international window held at Yongin Mireu Stadium on the 6th.

Son Heung-min was the starting point of the victory. In the fourth minute of the first half, Son Heung-min attempted a curled shot from in front of the opponent's penalty box, and the ball hit an Uzbekistan defender's arm, earning a free kick.

Taking the kick himself, Son Heung-min scored the opening goal with a precise right-footed shot aimed at the top right corner of the goal in the sixth minute of the first half.

It was not just any goal. It was Son Heung-min's 59th career international goal. Having recorded his 58th goal against Uruguay earlier to stand shoulder-to-shoulder with "legend" former coach Cha Bum-keun, Son Heung-min added one more goal against Uzbekistan to become the sole top scorer in the history of the Korean Nam Ja (CEO) team.

In Uzbekistan as well, Son Heung-min's historic record was quickly highlighted.

Uzbek media outlet Tribuna reported, "Son Heung-min, who opened the Uzbekistan goal, has become a record holder."

The outlet explained, "Son Heung-min opened the goal guarded by goalkeeper Abdubohid Nematov with an early free kick," adding, "This goal was Son Heung-min's 59th career goal for the Korean national team."

It further highlighted that "Son Heung-min surpassed Cha Bum-keun, a legend of Asian football who also played in the German Bundesliga, to become the player with the most goals in the history of the South Korea national team."

Another Uzbek media outlet, Zamin, also highly evaluated South Korea and Son Heung-min.

Zamin introduced South Korea as "one of the strongest teams in Asia" while mentioning Korean star players such as Son Heung-min, Lee Kang-in (Atletico Madrid), and Hwang Hee-chan (Wolverhampton).

The outlet assessed, "This friendly match against stars with high pressing ability was a very valuable experience for confirming the weaknesses of the Uzbekistan defense and raising the game tempo ahead of a major official tournament."

On this day, South Korea took the lead with Son Heung-min's historic opening goal, and Oh Se-hoon (Shimizu S-Pulse) scored an additional goal in the 15th minute of the second half to complete a 2-0 victory.

According to the Korea Football Association, Cha Bum-keun recorded his 58th career international goal in the match against China at the Bangkok Asian Games on December 17, 1978.

And with Son Heung-min scoring his 59th goal against Uzbekistan, the owner of the record for most goals in men's South Korea national team internationals changed after a span of 47 years, 9 months, and 21 days, or 17,461 days.

Son Heung-min scored his first international goal against India in the group stage of the Qatar Asian Cup on January 18, 2011. Recording his first goal in his third match for the national team, he announced the arrival of a next-generation star, and subsequently established himself as the center of Korean attack through numerous international stages such as the World Cup and the Asian Cup.

He consistently accumulated goals while handling various roles, including wide attacker, striker, and second striker.

In his 151st international match, he finally scored his 59th goal to become the player with the most international goals in the history of men's South Korean football.

He also set a new milestone in his personal career scoring record. With this goal, Son Heung-min recorded 301 career goals in official matches combined for the national team and professional clubs.

On the professional stage, he scored 20 goals at Hamburg, 29 goals at Leverkusen, and 173 goals at Tottenham. In particular, during the 2021-2022 season with Tottenham, he scored 23 goals in the English Premier League (EPL) to become the first Asian player to win the Golden Boot.

He has also recorded 20 goals in official matches for LAFC so far. Adding 59 national team goals to his 242 career professional club goals brings his total to 301 goals in official matches.

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*This content was translated by AI.