PAJU, South Korea– Taking on Brazil, world No. 1 in men’s football and among the title favorites at this year’s FIFA World Cup, is certainly a daunting task for South Korea. But their captain and reigning Premier League Golden Boot winner, Son Heung-min, doesn’t want his teammates to shy away from the challenge when they host the South Americans later this week.
“An opportunity to play such a strong team doesn’t come often,” Son said Monday at the start of South Korea’s training camp at the National Football Center in Paju, north of Seoul in Gyeonggi Province. “I hope we will all tackle this challenge head on, without being afraid. We should go into the stadium believing we can play our game. That way, we’ll be able to identify things we’re supposed to do and things we should correct.”
The match against Brazil kicks off at 8 p.m. Thursday at Seoul World Cup Stadium. It is the first of four matches South Korea, world No. 29, will play this month, as part of their preparation for the World Cup. South Korea will face Chile on June 6, Paraguay on June 10 and Egypt on June 14.
But Son isn’t looking past the first opponent, led by Paris Saint-Germain star Neymar.
Son, no slouch himself in international football, and Neymar are the two marquee names of the match. Son said he isn’t at Neymar’s level yet — “He is one of the best in the world and I am trying to get there,” Son said — and stressed that Brazil feature other talented players.
“If we can all play up to our capabilities, then we can be competitive (against Brazil),” Son said. “We’ll have a lot of fans on hand, and we’ll try to show them everything we have.”
Son became the first Asian player to win the Golden Boot in Premier League history, as he tied Mohamed Salah of Liverpool with 23 goals. Son netted two goals in the season finale on May 22 to get there.
Son said sheepishly that he hasn’t noticed any difference, in the way he has been received in the public or by his teammates, since winning the Golden Boot.
“I’ve just been having a lot of fun, doing what I love so much,” Son said. “But I didn’t win the scoring title for the national team. I should play a different role when I represent the country.”
Son said South Korea should improve their attention to detail, especially when going up against a powerful opponent, like Brazil, and also tried to temper fans’ expectations somewhat.
“Obviously, our fans would want us to win and score a lot of goals, but things don’t always go the way we want them to,” Son said. “I don’t think results in these matches are important. Even if we don’t play well, we should try to take as many lessons as possible. We should look toward the World Cup and try to build a perfect team for that tournament.”
Source: Yonhap News Agency