Son Heung-min’s 50th goal, Bae Jun-ho’s key goal… Hong Myung-bo was right
Bae Jun-ho, Hong Myung-bo’s new weapon, was even bigger. Son Heung-min became tied for second place in total goals (50 goals) with his return goal from the A match.
The Korean men’s national soccer team, led by coach Hong Myung-bo, won 3-1 with consecutive goals by Oh Se-hoon, Son Heung-min and Bae Jun-ho in the 5th game of Group B of the 2026 North and Central America World Cup Asia 3rd qualifying round held at the Jaber Al-Ahmed International Stadium in Kuwait City, Kuwait on the 14th (local time). won with Korea solidified first place in Group B (4 wins, 1 draw) with 4 consecutive wins, while Kuwait ranked at the bottom with 3 draws and 2 losses.
On this day, Coach Hong deployed Son Heung-min (Tottenham), who returned from a thigh injury, as a side striker along with Lee Kang-in (Paris Saint-Germain), and used a 4-2-3-1 structure with striker Oh Se-hoon (Machida) at the forefront.
Diligent Lee Jae-seong (Mainz) played as an attacking midfielder, while Hwang In-beom (Feyenoord) and Park Yong-woo (Al Ain) coordinated attack and defense in the midfield. From the left, Myung-jae Lee (Ulsan), Min-jae Kim (Munich), Yu-min Jo (Sharjah), and Young-woo Seol (Zvezda) stood in the four-back defensive line, and Hyun-woo Cho (Ulsan) put on the goalkeeper’s gloves.
Korea took the lead with Oh Se-hoon’s headed goal in the 10th minute of the first half. Oh Se-hoon hit Hwang In-beom’s cross from behind with a high strike from in front of the goal area and hit the net.
Korea, riding on momentum, ran away with a two-goal lead when Son Heung-min scored a penalty kick in the 19th minute of the first half. Son Heung-min broke into the goal area through a pass from Lee Jae-seong in front of the penalty arc, and took the penalty kick himself after a foul by the opposing defender.
Son Heung-min tied with Daejeon Hana Citizen coach Hwang Sun-hong for second place in total goals with his 50th international goal. If he scores 8 more goals, he will be on par with Cha Bum-geun’s record (58 goals).
In the 40th minute of the first half, Korea’s Lee Jae-seong hit a ball from Hwang In-beom with his head, but the ball hit the crossbar and left.
Korea temporarily let down its guard in the second half and conceded a goal. The volley shot attempted by opponent Mohammad Daham after receiving the ball at the corner of the penalty area was so powerful that even goalkeeper Cho Hyun-woo could not handle it.
Coach Hong Myung-bo later made a change by replacing Son Heung-min and inserting Bae Jun-ho (Stoke City), and Bae Jun-ho raised the team’s mood by hitting the net with an accurate shot from the left side of the goal area in the 29th minute of the second half.
Bae Jun-ho scored 2 goals in 5 international matches, and scored 1 goal and 2 assists in the national team’s 3 recent World Cup qualifying matches.
Coach Hong later tried to score additional goals by inserting Oh Hyun-gyu (Genk) and Lee Hyun-joo (Hannover), but no more goals were scored.
In an interview after the game, Son Heung-min said, “Fans think it’s an easy game, but nothing is free. “The players worked hard and won,” he said. Also, regarding reaching the 50-goal mark, “I am grateful to my teammates and coaching staff. It’s glorious, but what’s important is today’s victory. “And my body has now returned to its original condition,” he said.
Korea moves to Jordan to play the 6th game of Group B against Palestine on the 19th. If we win the Palestine war, we will cross the ‘8th ridge’ of heading to North Korea, China and the United States.
In the 3rd Asian preliminary round, where teams are divided into 3 groups, the 1st and 2nd group from each group will receive a direct ticket to the World Cup finals.
Senior Reporter Kim Chang-geum kimck@hani.co.kr
