Son Heung-min stays humble after big victory over Vietnam

Son started for South Korea although there were concerns of him having just returned from injury. He played the full match, scored one, assisted one and made a pass that forced a Vietnam defender to score an own goal.

However, the 31-year-old superstar believes that his contribution was not significant.

"I couldn’t do much against Vietnam," Son told South Korean media. "I was not excellent or anything, it was because of my teammates who did really well to get this stellar win."

Son Heung-min (R) takes a shot in the friendly match between South Korea and Vietnam on October 17, 2023. Photo by VnExpress

6-0 is South Korea's biggest win under coach Jurgen Klinsmann. This is also their third consecutive victory, after defeating Saudi Arabia 1-0 and Tunisia 4-0.

Son said many people think it's natural for South Korea to win against Vietnam, but that's not the case.

According to him, the whole team were well aware that they must enter the field with the determination to win big and there were still errors that needed to be overcome.

"The most important thing was to create many attacking chances against Vietnam's strong defense," Son said.

In this match, South Korea had 67% possession and 34 shots, four times more than Vietnam. However, their goal was also threatened a few times after the shots of Truong Tien Anh and Nguyen Dinh Bac in the first half and Khuat Van Khang's free kick that hit the bar in the second half.

After the first half ended, Son left the field with a limp but still played the second half. In the 60th minute, coach Klinsmann wanted to take him off, but the Tottenham Hotspurs captain insisted he could play the entire match.

"If you are always worried about injury, you should not play football," Son said.

Son is often regarded as the greatest Asian player of all time.

This season he has scored six goals in the English Premier League, only two less than the top scorer, Manchester City's Erling Haaland.

He had 114 caps and 39 goals for South Korea and is 22 games and 20 goals behind legend Cha Bum-kun, who tops both lists.