New York (AFP) – Son Heung-min scored one goal and set up another to spark South Korea’s 2-0 victory over the United States in an international football friendly on Saturday. The matchup between two clubs bound for the 2026 World Cup was played at Harrison, New Jersey, in the home stadium of MLS’s New York Red Bulls. The South Koreans advanced through Asian qualifying to next year’s World Cup, to be co-hosted by the Americans, Canada, and Mexico.
Son scored in the 18th minute and Lee Dong-gyeong added another in the 43rd to secure South Korea’s triumph against a US side coached by Mauricio Pochettino — Son’s former boss at Tottenham Hotspur. Son joined Major League Soccer’s Los Angeles FC in a blockbuster move last month that has energized Korean football fans in the United States. They were out in force, prompting South Korea manager Hong Myung-bo to say the fixture was “like a home match.” South Korea improved to 4-2 with two drawn in the all-time rivalry against the US men, winning their first meeting since a US home triumph in 2014.
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The Americans, coming off a 2-1 loss to Mexico in July’s CONCACAF Gold Cup final, welcomed back Christian Pulisic. But it was another dispiriting setback for a team that has failed to gain momentum with the World Cup looming. “It’s a team that’s coming together,” US midfielder Sebastian Berhalter said. “We have different pieces that are just trying to figure out how to play with each other. We still have things to improve upon. For us it’s about keep going and keep building that team chemistry.”
Son opened the scoring in the 18th minute, staying just onside and taking a pass from Lee Jae-sung, then rushing to the goal and firing a left-footed blast from a tough angle past US goalkeeper Matt Freese into the far right side of the net. “It was a little bit too easy for them to play through us. We made some adjustments at half-time and the second half was much better,” US captain and defender Tim Ream said. South Korea doubled the lead in the 43rd minute when Son worked a give-and-go play, took the return pass in the heart of the penalty area, then quickly flicked the ball to Lee Dong-gyeong, who back-heeled the ball with his left foot into the goal to give the visitors a 2-0 edge at half-time. “They are a good team that’s playing really well together,” Berhalter said. “They know each other really well and they have quality. If you make little mistakes they are going to punish you.”
Son was replaced by Oh Hyeon-gyu in the 63rd minute as both sides made multiple lineup changes. Jo Hyeon-woo saved a close-range shot by Richards and denied Folarin Balogun in the fourth minute of stoppage time to preserve the clean sheet. “We were better than South Korea, but if we don’t finish the plays, it’s complicated,” Pochettino said. “We created chances, controlled the game, but conceded goals in ways that shouldn’t have happened. Despite the result, we’ve improved since the Gold Cup with a different group of players, and we have to be positive.”
Ream stressed bonding and teamwork. “We just need to continue to gel and to build,” Ream said. “We have to work on everything. We have to keep going… raise the standard and work on things for the next game.” That will come against Japan in Columbus, Ohio, on Tuesday, when Mexico will take on South Korea in Nashville, Tennessee.
© 2024 AFP
