Son Heung-min (31, Tottenham), who underwent surgery for a sports hernia, drew a raucous roar from the crowd despite starting on the bench.
The South Korean national soccer team, led by Jürgen Klinsmann (59), will play Peru in an A-match trial at 8 p.m. Saturday at the Busan Asiad Stadium.
Ahead of the match, the Korea Football Association (KFA) released the starting lineup for South Korea against Peru.
South Korea will start with Lee Kang-in, Oh Hyun-gyu, Hwang Hee-chan, Won Doo-jae, Lee Jae-sung, Hwang In-beom, Lee Ki-je, Ahn Hyun-beom, Park Ji-soo, and Jung Seung-hyun in goal, with Son Heung-min wearing the captain’s armband. Son Heung-min will start on the bench.
On May 13, the KFA announced, “Son Heung-min underwent surgery for a minor sports hernia in England after Tottenham’s last league game on May 29. He is recovering,” announcing Son’s surgery. Heung-min has since focused on his recovery in training. On the 15th, Klinsmann said that he would monitor Son’s condition and that he would be on the bench.
Thirty minutes before kickoff, a video of the South Korean starting lineup was shown on the big screen at the Busan Asiad Stadium. As each player’s name was called, there was a loud cheer, but there was one player who stood out as the loudest: “La Liga’s best midfielder” Lee Kang-in.
As soon as Lee’s name was announced, the Busan Asiad Stadium was filled with cheers from the fans in attendance.
The crowd also cheered for Lee Jae-sung, Hwang In-beom, Hwang Hee-chan, and Oh Hyun-gyu, who were introduced later.
It was a roar that echoed through the stadium. But it got even louder when the substitutes were introduced. Son Heung-min, the “captain” of the South Korean national team, was announced. Along with Son Heung-min, Cho Kyu-sung also drew cheers from the fans, demonstrating the popularity of the team that will peak after the 2022 FIFA World Cup in Qatar.스포츠토토
Meanwhile, Klinsmann, who took over the reins of the South Korean national team on February 27, has yet to record his first win. They drew 2-2 with Colombia on March 24 and lost 1-2 to Uruguay on March 28.
South Korea and Peru first met in 1971, when South Korea, playing away from home, lost 0-4. The teams met again at the Suwon World Cup Stadium in August 2013, but only managed a 0-0 draw.
It will be interesting to see if Klinsmann can overcome the absence of Son Heung-min, Kim Young-kwon, and Kim Min-jae to record his first win with the South Korean national team.