World Cup 2018, Sweden vs South Korea: Why Son Heung-min is in such a pessimistic mood ahead of opener
Not many star players have discussed 'humiliation' prior to the World Cup... but Son has
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Your support makes all the difference.South Korea begin their ninth consecutive World Cup finals against Sweden in Nizhny-Novgorod on Monday, but not even that pedigree, or their status as former co-hosts of the tournament, fuels belief that there will be a Korean presence in the knock-out stage.
Not many star players have discussed “humiliation” prior to the World Cup but Son Heung-min has. Tottenham Hotspur’s slick striker surveyed his country’s chances following Korea’s last home friendly – a 3-1 defeat by Bosnia – and offered this sad warning: “We can have more humiliating results than we had at the 2014 World Cup.
“I'm not trying to discourage other players, but we need to really play sincerely and have fighters' spirit. I'm not exempt from that.”
Son’s 18 goals for Spurs last season emphasised his value to a squad of Champions League calibre. But the last of those goals was in early March and that will concern all inside and outside the Korean Republic who view the team’s progress – or not – via Son’s impact.
Son will be 26 during the competition and this is his second World Cup. It’s just that, as he said, 2014 is hardly an inspiration.
In Brazil South Korea finished bottom of their group with one point. In their second match, against Algeria, they were 3-0 down to at half-time and lost 4-2.
Son scored in that game but the Taeguk Warriors did not live up to the name and their group this time is considerably more difficult.
World champions Germany, plus Mexico, are expected to go through, which means the opening game against Sweden matters if Korea are to give themselves hope. As Son indicates, though, optimism is scarce.
Doubts from 2014 carried on into qualification: South Korea finished second in their group behind Iran - by seven points. They lost three of their five away games, scoring only in one of those, a 3-2 defeat by lowly Qatar.
It all cost German manager Uli Stielike his job. He was replaced by Shin Tae-Yong, who was national coach at last year’s under-20s World Cup.
In friendlies since qualification, Shin has experimented with personnel and formations – he placed Swansea’s Ki Sung-yeung in the middle of a back three against Bosnia – but that loss followed two against Poland and Northern Ireland.
There have been victories against Honduras and Latvia but at the pre-tournament training base in Austria a 0-0 draw with Bolivia came before a 2-0 defeat by Senegal behind closed doors last Monday. One goal in the last four preparation matches helps explain why the mood verges on damage limitation.
Ki at least carries himself differently. Bosnia was his 100th appearance for his country and as many fans see him as much as Son as the pivotal influence. Ki’s experience of playing in Europe for almost a decade will be vital against Sweden – only five of the squad play outside Asia.
A confident character, even Ki told The Independent: “I don’t want to talk about Germany because everybody knows they are the best team. Sweden? Maybe, yeah. Not all Korean players have played against a team like this.”
It keeps coming back to Son, and Ki said: “He’s in form, he’s going to be our biggest threat. He’s a very nice guy, very polite.
“He has to be an example because he has such a reputation. He’s the best player, so he can’t be nervous, and he’s not. You can’t score the goals he scores if you are not confident. He is confident.”
Some hope lives on in another Spurs Korean, Lee Young-pyo - YP Lee – who made his name at the 2002 World Cup under Guus Hiddink.
Lee described Son and Ki as “World Cup kids” who grew out of 2002. “I think it changed the country,” Lee said of that World Cup.
“I think we can divide our football history – before the 2002 World Cup, and after the 2002 World Cup. Before, all the things we needed in terms of organization, facilities, mentality and culture, was very small. But after, the Korean people looked differently at our national team.”
Korean football’s concern is whether that enthusiasm is waning. The country – South and North – has had rather larger affairs on its mind lately but manager Shin said shortly after arriving in Russia that he wishes a strong showing against Sweden might “create a football boom again.” It was at least some wishful thinking.
A 20 year-old, Lee Seung-woo, who joined Barcelona aged 12, has been called up. Perhaps his youthful energy will inspire pessimistic Son to start a new boom.
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