A friendly match against Mexico at Geodyspark in Nashville, Tennessee on the 10th (Korea time). At the start of the second half, Son Heung-min (33, LA FC) stepped on the ground. It was his 136th A-match.
Son Heung-min has written a new history again. It ranked first in the most A-match appearances in Korean soccer history. He was on par with Cha Bum-keun and Hong Myung-bo, who played in 136 A matches. Son Heung-min, who made his A-match debut at the age of 18 in December 2010 through a friendly match against Syria, recorded a milestone after consistently playing A-match, including three World Cups in 15 years.
What is great about Son Heung-min's record is that he has achieved it only by playing overseas. Son Heung-min, who made his professional debut in Germany, later moved to Tottenham in England. Son Heung-min, who has extraordinary pride in the national team, always joined the national team unless he was injured. The round-trip flight distance was 30 hours and the travel distance was 20,000 kilometers, but it always showed the best performance. Overseas players, including Park Ji-sung and Ki Sung-yueng, announced their early retirement from the national team due to injuries from difficult schedules, but Son Heung-min overcame all handicaps with natural physical strength, muscle and extraordinary sincerity.
Son Heung-min, who has recorded a number of records, including the longest-serving captain in history, the second place in the A-match total number of goals (52 goals), and the third place in the longest A-match record (14 years and 285 days), is always humble. Regarding the previous record for most appearances, he said, `It is a great honor to be able to write a new record for the national team. But rather than paying attention to the record, I want to focus on producing the best results in every convocation" expressed his feelings.
He is still good at it. Son Heung-min, who recently moved to LA FC in the U.S., has been active, scoring his debut goal in three games. The reason why he chose the U.S. stage after leaving love calls from Saudi Arabia and Turkiye behind was because of the 2026 World Cup in North Korea and the U.S. The choice was effective. I'm seeing the effect on the U.S. expedition. Son Heung-min, who started as a front-line striker in the last match against the U.S., showed his outstanding performance and scored one goal and one assist.
Son started the match against Mexico on the bench. Coach Hong Myung-bo conducted an experiment to change nine players except for two defensive positions compared to the match against the United States. In the second half, which led to 0-0, Son Heung-min took out his card. He marked another milestone in Korean football.
As long as there is no injury, Son Heung-min is expected to rise to No. 1 in the most A-match appearances in South Korea in a friendly match against Brazil scheduled for the 10th of next month.
This article was translated by Naver AI translator.
