Son Heung-min Surpasses Legend Cha Bum-kun as All-Time A-Match Top Scorer; Korea Defeats Uzbekistan 2-0

59th A-Match Goal with a Free Kick in the 6th Minute
Surpasses Cha Bum-kun's 58 Goals to Become Korea's Top Scorer
Moreno's Squad Closes A-Match Series with Two Wins, One Draw, and One Loss

South Korea's national football team captain, Son Heungmin, has surpassed 'Korean football legend' and former national team manager Cha Bumkun to become the all-time leading goal scorer for the South Korean men's national team in A-match history.

On October 6, Son scored the opening goal with a free kick in the 6th minute of the first half during the national team friendly match against Uzbekistan, which was sponsored by Hana Bank and held at Yongin Mir Stadium, Gyeonggi Province.

With this goal, Son recorded 59 goals in 151 A-matches, overtaking former manager Cha Bumkun's record of 58 goals in 136 matches and becoming the sole leader for the most A-match goals by a Korean player.

Son Heung-min is celebrating after scoring his 59th goal, the most by a Korean player in A-match history, during the soccer national team friendly against Uzbekistan held on the 6th at Yongin Mir Stadium in Yongin-si. Photo by Yonhap News

The goal that rewrote South Korean football history was created entirely by Son. In the 4th minute of the first half, Hwang Heechan passed the ball from midfield to Son Heungmin, who then dribbled up to the left side of the penalty arc before taking a right-footed shot. The ball struck the arm of an Uzbekistan defender, resulting in a free kick.

Son Heungmin stepped up as the kicker himself. He exploited the moment when the Uzbekistan defensive wall jumped in unison to block the shot. Instead of sending the shot over the wall, Son drove the ball low and fast with his right foot, sending it under the wall and into the bottom right corner of the net. The goalkeeper had no chance to react.

Son has now scored in three out of four matches since the appointment of manager Robert Moreno, taking the top spot for all-time goals. In Moreno's first match in charge on September 24 against Ecuador, Son scored his 57th A-match goal with a free kick, and then he notched his 58th goal against Uruguay on September 28 to tie Cha Bumkun for first place. Although he did not score against Venezuela on October 2, he found the back of the net again today to become the sole leader.

With today's goal, Son's total across all official matches for both club and country increased to 301 goals. This includes 20 with Hamburger SV, 29 with Bayer Leverkusen, 173 with Tottenham Hotspur, and 20 with LAFC, totaling 242 club goals, in addition to his 59 goals for the national team.

The match ended with a 2-0 victory for South Korea.

Consistent with the previous three matches, manager Moreno deployed a 4-4-2 formation. However, instead of Oh Hyun-gyu, who had started as Son's strike partner in the earlier games, tall forward Oh Sehun was given the starting nod. Hwang Heechan and Lee Kangin played on the wings, with Lee Jaesung and Park Jinseop in central midfield. Kim Minjae was left out of the squad.

Kim Minjae (right) is embracing Son Heungmin after the football national team friendly match between South Korea and Uzbekistan held on the 6th at Yongin Mir Stadium in Yongin, Gyeonggi Province. Photo by Yonhap News Agency

Despite the win, the team was left with some regrets about their performance. After Son's early goal in the first half, South Korea ceded control to Uzbekistan for a while, and the team survived several dangerous moments thanks to crucial saves by goalkeeper Jo Hyeonwoo.

In the 60th minute, Oh Hyun-gyu's insurance goal gave South Korea some breathing room. Oh Hyun-gyu, who came on as a substitute at the start of the second half, headed in a cross from Song Mingyu, who had also just been introduced, making it 2-0.

Since taking charge, manager Moreno's record stands at 2 wins, 1 draw, and 1 loss from four matches. The Moreno era had a promising start with a 3-0 win against Ecuador on September 24, but suffered a heavy 1-4 loss to Uruguay four days later. On October 2, the team drew 0-0 after a tough contest against Venezuela.

With today's result, Moreno's squad ended a spell of poor form by defeating relatively easier opponents Uzbekistan. This victory also extended their unbeaten run against Uzbekistan to 16 matches. The overall head-to-head now stands at 12 wins, 4 draws, and 1 loss in favor of South Korea.

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