“Historic slump”: Son Heung-min, agonizing big chance miss → “zero” on target… Humiliating silence in five official matches

*This content was translated by AI.View Original

Son Heung-min (34, LAFC), captain of the South Korean national football team, revealed painful struggles with finishing in the match against Saudi Arabia, making it difficult to escape responsibility for the defeat.

The South Korean national team, led by interim coach Roberto Moreno, lost 2-3 to Saudi Arabia in a friendly match held at the Jassim bin Hamad Stadium in Doha, Qatar, at 11:30 p.m. (KST) on the 13th.

It was a record-breaking defeat. South Korea’s last loss to Saudi Arabia was 21 years ago, during the Asian final qualifiers for the 2005 Germany World Cup in August.

Son Heung-min’s slump was all the more painful given that he had been at the forefront of restoring morale right up until just before the match. The national team had been in turmoil due to so-called “92-96 LINE conflict rumors” and speculation about core players retiring from the national team, which surfaced after the 2026 North-Central America World Cup. On the 12th, one day before the match, Son Heung-min, Lee Jae-sung (Mainz), Kim Min-jae (Bayern Munich), Hwang In-beom (FC Porto), and Hwang Hee-chan (Schalke 04) issued a joint statement to mend the rift. They stated, “What the public expects is not explanations, but sincerity and good performance shown on the field,” vowing victory against Saudi Arabia. At the training ground in Doha, they also smiled brightly, showcasing their unity as one team.

However, on the actual pitch, captain Son Heung-min bowed his head at every crucial moment. Starting as a striker alongside Oh Hyeon-gyu (Besiktas) and playing the full 90 minutes, Son Heung-min recorded the most touches in the opponent’s penalty box among both teams with nine, seizing numerous opportunities. While the team connected six of its 15 shots on target, Son Heung-min’s two shots from inside the box both missed the goal, resulting in zero shots on target.

In the 19th minute of the first half, Son Heung-min connected with a left-footed shot from the center of the penalty box after Hwang Hee-chan broke through the defense and played a through pass, but it went wide to the right of the goalpost. A more fatal scene occurred in the 21st minute of the second half while trailing 1-3. His striking partner Oh Hyeon-gyu forced a kicking error from Saudi goalkeeper Mohammed Al-Owais with high pressing, and the loose ball rolled precisely to Son Heung-min positioned at the center of the penalty box. It was a prime big chance to keep the hope of a comeback alive, but Son Heung-min’s right-footed shot soared helplessly over the crossbar.

Just two minutes later, Lee Jae-sung, who had come on as a substitute, exchanged passes with Hwang Hee-chan to score an equalizer, narrowing the gap to one goal at 2-3. Consequently, Son Heung-min’s unusual big chance miss proved fatal. In the end, South Korea failed to score an equalizer and had to accept its first loss to Saudi Arabia in 21 years. The statistics specialist media outlet “Sofascore” gave Son Heung-min, who played as a forward and repeatedly squandered decisive scoring opportunities, a rating of 6.3 points, placing him in the lower tier within the team.

Son Heung-min’s decline in scoring form is also clearly evident with his club team recently. After playing the full 90 minutes in all of LAFC’s last four regular season matches without scoring, Son Heung-min has now gone scoreless in five consecutive official matches, including this game against Saudi Arabia.

Expanding the scope to the entire season, he has managed only seven goals in 31 matches. While his assists have reached double digits, showing that he still plays a significant role in link-up play, the prevailing assessment is that his goal-scoring ability is not what it used to be. According to football statistics media “FootMob,” Son Heung-min’s expected goals (xG) this season reach 10.4, but his actual goals are only seven. Unlike his prime years when he shook the opponent’s net with finishing power that far exceeded his expected goals, his finishing in front of goal has clearly dulled, even by the numbers.

Son Heung-min, whose career A-match goal tally is stuck at 59, will attempt to wash away his slump and challenge for the first 60th A-match goal by a South Korean male player in the final friendly match of the year against Qatar, scheduled for 11:00 p.m. on the 17th in Doha.

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*This content was translated by AI.View Original