South Korea played their first match at the 2018 World Cup against Sweden, with big things expected of the Tottenham Hotspur forward.
South Korea took on Sweden on Monday and were looking to capitalise on Germany’s shock defeat to Mexico the day before.
Joachim Low’s side slipped up and now have some work to do if they want to progress through to the knockout stages.
It was a chance for South Korea to capitalise and give themselves an outside chance of making the last 16, but Taegeuk Jeonsa were unable to break down their opponents at the Nizhny Novgorod Stadium, losing the game 1-0 thanks to an Andreas Granqvist penalty.
Perhaps the highest profile name on show in the game was Tottenham Hotspur winger Heung-min Son, a lot of which is expected from if South Korea are to do anything in Russia.
Unfortunately the 25-year-old Tottenham man did not have his best game, and afterwards spoke of his regret at not being able to exert his influence better, apologising for not taking responsibility.
There is added pressure on Son to perform for his country, with the threat of military service hanging over his head. If he does not do something in national team colours that gains significant respect, then he may not be granted an exemption in two years by the Korean authorities.
The Tottenham star’s performance against Sweden was not particularly great, but fans noticed that he was still a cut above the rest of his teammates, and sympathised with him for not being supported:
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