Captain Son Heung-min, who shed tears before the 'Cliff-edge Miracle,' says "I have been waiting for this moment"

"Bento Coach Is Happy to Be Back on the Bench"
Advances to Round of 16 with 1 Win, 1 Draw, 1 Loss in Group Stage... Son Heung-min's Dramatic Assist in Final Moments

On the morning of the 3rd (Korean time) at Education City Stadium in Al Rayyan, Qatar, the Group H third match of the 2022 Qatar World Cup between South Korea and Portugal took place. Son Heung-min of South Korea, who succeeded in advancing to the round of 16 by defeating Portugal 2-1, is applauding the spectators.
[Image source=Yonhap News]

[Asia Economy Reporter Kim Heeyoon] "I have been waiting for this moment, and I believed I could do it."

Son Heung-min (30, Tottenham), captain of the South Korean national football team, shed tears of joy. Having played the match wearing a black mask due to orbital fracture surgery just before the tournament, Son expressed his feelings of advancing to the round of 16 with tears of success, leaving behind the burdens and regrets he had carried.

Led by coach Paulo Bento, the national football team defeated Portugal 2-1 in a come-from-behind victory in the third group stage match of Group H at the Education City Stadium in Al Rayyan, Qatar, at midnight on the 3rd (Korean time) during the 2022 FIFA Qatar World Cup.

With this victory, South Korea recorded 1 win, 1 draw, and 1 loss (goal difference 0, 4 goals scored, 4 goals conceded). After the win against Portugal, the team formed a circle on the field waiting for the results of the matches against Uruguay and Ghana, and soon cheered upon hearing the news of Uruguay's victory.

At the same time, Uruguay defeated Ghana 2-0, recording 1 win, 1 draw, and 1 loss (goal difference 0, 2 goals scored, 2 goals conceded). However, South Korea advanced dramatically to second place in the group due to a superior number of goals scored, securing a spot in the round of 16.

After the match, Son Heung-min said, "It was really a difficult game as I thought. We faced a tough situation after conceding a goal early on, but thanks to the players who never gave up, ran one step further, and sacrificed themselves until the end, we achieved a good result. I did my best in 2018 as well, but we couldn't get the result. This time, I am very happy to have achieved a special result," shedding tears. He added, "I am really proud of the players," expressing his feelings toward the teammates who worked hard together.

Son said, "I have been waiting for this moment and believed I could do it. They performed better than I expected. As a captain, I showed some shortcomings, but the players did very well," and "Thanks to the support of many citizens, we were able to play a good game. I want to give this credit to the players rather than myself," he said.

Regarding the round of 16 match, Son said, "Advancing to the round of 16 was the biggest goal. We have to do our best in the upcoming match. No one knows what will happen. I hope we can show a good game by doing our best again."

At the end of the interview, Son expressed gratitude to coach Bento, who watched the match from the stands, saying, "I am very thankful to be able to share the coach's last game from the bench." Previously, coach Bento received a red card in the second match against Ghana and had to watch the game from the stands. He will lead the players again from the bench in the round of 16 match.