Today’s Special: Son Heung-Min’s return to form will come as a relief for South Korea ahead of the World Cup

Tottenham Hotspur coach Antonio Conte may have allowed himself a smile or two as Son Heung-Min, who was yet to get off the mark this season, came off the bench to score a blitzy 13-minute hattrick against Leicester City at the weekend. And while Conte’s smile could be maken for a smirk, there’s someone who surely heaved a huge sigh of relief.
That someone is South Korea’s coach Paulo Bento.
With the World Cup just two months away, Bento’s biggest worry must’ve been that Son looked only a shadow of the player he was last season. And South Korea need him to be at his best, if not better, as they’ve been drawn in a very difficult group in Qatar.

라일리와 @Sonny7 의 세레머니 콤비!! #THFC #COYS #토트넘 #손흥민 #WelcomeSonny #Sonny #NiceOneSonny #HeungMinSon pic.twitter.com/D6ydstB9gl
— Tottenham Hotspur 🇰🇷 (@Spurs_KR) May 4, 2022
In Group H, they will face a star-studded Portugal, led Criano Ronaldo, South American powerhouse Uruguay with the likes of Luis Suarez, Edison Cavani as well as 23-year-old Liverpool stalwart Darwin Nunez – and tricky African side Ghana.
Getting out of that group will be a Herculean task and Bento will take comfort from Son’s performance against Leicester.
The Struggle
Son, who won last season’s Golden Boot scoring 23 goals (tied with Mohamed Salah), wasn’t able to get on the scoresheet in the first six games this season. That led to Conte making a very difficult choice in benching him for their home against Leicester. With the game evenly poised at 3-2 and Leicester trying to take control of the midfield, Conte turned to Son.
Wanting to prove himself after being benched for the first time, Son showed he’s ready for a fight becoming the first Tottenham player to score a hat-trick off the bench in the Premier League this season.
Tottenham’s Son Heung-min, centre, in action during the Champions League soccer match between Tottenham Hotspur and Olympique de Marseille at Tottenham Hotspur stadium, in London, England, Wednesday, Sept. 7, 2022. (AP Photo/Ian Walton)
His first goal was spectacular, to say the least. With his right foot, he curled one into the top corner from 25 yards, then his left-footed strike found the bottom corner from 20 yards and it was rounded off a deflected shot being given after the video assant referee overruled an offside decision.
Son himself admittedly was “really frustrated” after he was benched Conte.
“I was really frustrated as well,” Son told Sky Sports after the game. “I can do much better than I have been. I have been disappointed, the team has been doing really well but I was disappointed with my performance. My finishing has been poor. I’ve also been a little bit unlucky with an own goal, two offside goals, and hitting the crossbar. I knew goals were coming and I wasn’t worried.”
It all went away when he scored that 25-yarder though. “I couldn’t believe it (when I scored). All the frustration and what I had, disappointment, and negative feeling just went. I couldn’t move so I stood still. It made me really happy,” he told BBC Sport.
“Football is crazy sometimes. Sometimes the ball didn’t want to go inside and three times (it did today). It changes everything. I learned so much in this tough period. I need to work hard every time to get the chance.”
Too much on his plate?
Son has been ubiquitous to the Tottenham and South Korea team, so much so that he’s probably played and travelled more than any other professional footballer, at least in the past four years.
While his club has punishing English and European football schedules, he’s had to travel a lot when playing for his country. Starting with the 2018 World Cup in Russia, then the 2018 Asian Games in Indonesia – which his team won there exempting him from military service – followed the 2019 Asian Cup in the United Arab Emirates. Then there were the qualifiers for Qatar which were played all over Asia
Tottenham’s Son Heung-min, left, celebrates after scoring against Arsenal (AP Photo/Matt Dunham)
Not to forget he does a wide range of commercial activities — his popularity and huge fan following means all the top brands want to get a hold of him.
While he couldn’t get on the scoresheet, people raised questions if his packed calendar was taking a toll on him.
Upcoming Friendlies
Last week, when Bento was asked about Son’s form he played down any concerns. “There is no concern and I feel the same as when he’s scoring a lot,” Bento had said, adding, “I have all the confidence in him as usual. I do not intend to talk to him about it.”
And Bento too will be thankful that the hat-trick means he’s unlikely to receive questions about Son as his team gears up to play friendlies Costa Rica on Friday and Cameroon four days later.
The question plaguing Bento before last weekend was if Son didn’t find his form before November, who could he depend on to see his team finish in the top-two of the group to make it to the knockout. That would mean they would need a dominant striker.
South Korea coach Paulo Bento. (AP File)
That mantle would fall to Hwang Ui-jo — who recently joined Olympiakos on loan from Bordeaux. Having 23 goals in Ligue 1 to his name over the past two years and an international tally of 16 goals from 47 caps, he’s been decent but doubts remain if he has the ability to single-handedly win the game for his country.
24-year-old Cho Gue-sung is seen as Hwang’s deputy even though he’s plying his trade in South Korea’s second-tier K League 2. Though he’s a consent scorer, Cho has yet to prove himself.
There’s always Wolves attacker Hwang Hee-chan. The 26-year-old has shown glimpses of the attacking ability but he’ll need to start more often if he wants to play in Qatar.
The fact is that South Korea can’t really afford to fall back on Plan B. They need Son. Unless injured, he will most definitely be there against Uruguay on November 24. And like he showed, it takes just 13 minutes to change the narrative.