Son Heung-min Scores 58th International Goal to Tie Cha Bum-kun’s Record; South Korea Falls 1-4 to Uruguay

Son Heung-min has joined the ranks of Korean football legends, standing shoulder to shoulder with former national team head coach Cha Bum-kun by scoring his 58th goal in an international A match.

On September 28, at Seoul World Cup Stadium, Son Heung-min scored a consolation goal in the 80th minute of the friendly match against Uruguay, when South Korea was trailing 0-4. Lee Kang-in sent in a cross from the right, and Son redirected it with his right foot inside the penalty area, sending the ball into the net.

By scoring 58 goals for the South Korean national team, Son Heung-min has tied the record for the most A match goals by a Korean male player, which had been held by former coach Cha Bum-kun. This milestone came in his 149th international appearance.

Son Heung-min is expressing regret after taking a shot in the friendly match against Uruguay held on the 28th at Seoul World Cup Stadium. Photo by Yonhap News

Son Heung-min made his A match debut in December 2010 at the age of eighteen, in a friendly match against Syria. In January 2011, in just his third international appearance, he scored his debut goal during a group stage match against India at the Asian Football Confederation (AFC) Asian Cup.

Last year, Son Heung-min already surpassed the record for most A match appearances, which had been held by Cha Bum-kun at 136 matches. In a friendly match against Brazil last year, he played his 137th international match, breaking the record previously jointly held by Cha Bum-kun and former national team coach Hong Myung-bo for the most A match appearances by a Korean male player. As of today, he has extended that record to 149 appearances.

With this recent goal, Son Heung-min also reached a total of 300 official goals across both his national and professional club careers. He has scored 20 goals for Hamburg, 29 for Bayer Leverkusen, and 173 for Tottenham Hotspur. Currently playing for Los Angeles FC in the United States, he has reached a total of 242 goals in official professional matches.

Despite this historic achievement by Son Heung-min, the match ended in a heavy defeat for South Korea.

The South Korean national team, under interim head coach Robert Moreno, suffered a 1-4 loss to Uruguay in the friendly match held today.

South Korea conceded two goals in the first half: one in the 13th minute to striker Darwin Nunez, and another in the 27th minute to attacking midfielder Giorgian De Arrascaeta. In addition, an own goal by Kim Min-jae in the 43rd minute brought the total to three goals conceded in the first half alone.

The South Korean national football team players are showing their disappointment after suffering a heavy 1-4 defeat against Uruguay in the friendly match held at Seoul World Cup Stadium on the 28th. Photo by Yonhap News Agency

At the start of the second half, head coach Moreno substituted Kim Min-jae, Hwang Hee-chan, Kim Bong-soo, and Lee Tae-seok, bringing in Kim Tae-hyeon, Park Jin-seop, Jo Hyun-taek, and Kim Min-su to refresh the squad. With a noticeably improved performance in the early moments of the second half, South Korea launched several threatening attacks on the opposing goal. However, they were unable to score until the 62nd minute, when Darwin Nunez scored a header, extending Uruguay's lead to 4-0. South Korea narrowly avoided a complete shutout with Son Heung-min's consolation goal.

With this loss, South Korea’s all-time record against Uruguay is now one win, two draws, and eight losses.

The national team is scheduled to play two more friendly matches. On October 2 at 8:00 p.m., they will face Venezuela at Ulsan Munsu Stadium, and on October 6 at 8:00 p.m., they will play against Uzbekistan at Yongin Mir Stadium.

This content was produced with the assistance of AI translation services.