Son Heung-min plans to immediately start preparing for the international match in October.
Tottenham defeated Luton Town 1-0 in the 8th round of the 2023-24 Premier League (PL) season held at Kenilworth Road Stadium in Luton, England at 8:30 pm on the 7th (Korean time). With this win, Tottenham rose to first place in the league with 6 wins and 2 draws (20 points).
The home team, Tottenham, appeared in a 4-2-3-1 formation. Son Heung-min was positioned at the forefront, and Richarlison, James Madison, and Dejan Kulusevski supported the attack in the second line. Just below them, Bissouma and Pape Sar teamed up. The back four consisted of Destiny Udozy, Mickey van der Pen, Christian Romero, and Pedro Foro, and the goal was guarded by Guglielmo Vicario.
In the first half, Tottenham showed overwhelming performance and took advantage of Luton Town’s gaps. Tottenham, with Son Heung-min at the center, Richarlison, Maddison, and Kulusevski continued to knock on Luton Town’s goal. However, the shot missed the goal or was blocked by the goalkeeper’s save, causing disappointment.
Son Heung-min showed sharpness in the front line. In the 7th minute of the first half, Son Heung-min passed Van der Pen’s pass from the back to the prisoner with one touch, and after receiving the pass again, he stabbed in a killer pass. However, Poro’s shot missed the goal and he was disappointed.
He attempted to score a goal in three consecutive games. In the 10th minute of the first half, Son Heung-min tried to kick with his left foot in front of the defense in front of the arc, but it missed the goal slightly. He shot once in the 17th minute of the first half, but the goalkeeper caught it. The defense was also solid. When Son Heung-min lost the ball in midfield in the 23rd minute of the first half, he immediately went into recovery. Afterwards, he captured the ball with a tackle and succeeded in defense.
A variable occurred in a situation where Tottenham continued to lead the attack. In extra time in the first half, Bissouma received two warnings and was sent off. In the end, Tottenham ended up fighting with 10 men in the second half. The plan was bound to go awry. At the start of the second half, Coach Enze Postecoglou removed Richarlison and brought in Pierre-Emile Hojbjerg.
Tottenham scored the first goal despite being outnumbered. In the 7th minute of the second half, during a corner kick attack, Van de Penn finished the cutback given after Madison broke the side with his left foot in front of the goal, shaking the net. After that, I set out to protect it. In the 31st minute of the second half, Tottenham removed Son Heung-min and Maddison and added Emerson and Oliver Skipp to increase their defensive numbers. In the end, Tottenham saved one goal and won 1-0.안전놀이터
Son Heung-min, who played about 76 minutes on this day, touched the ball 31 times, had a pass success rate of 90%, made 2 shots (1 effective shot), made 2 key passes, created a decisive opportunity once, and made 5 ground duels (3 successful). , recorded 2 fouls, etc. Based on the soccer statistics media ‘Sofa Score’, Son Heung-min received a rating of 7.3 points, ranking 6th highest in the team.
This is Son Heung-min, who overcame his injury concerns and performed his role 100%. Son Heung-min’s physical condition was not perfect ahead of the game. This is the reason why he was unable to play full-time starting from the last game against Arsenal until Liverpool.
Fortunately, Son Heung-min completed training and prepared for the game. Ahead of the game, Coach Postekoglou said, “Son Heung-min trained for two days and there were no problems. As Son Heung-min is important to Tottenham, he is also important to the national team. Instructing the national team coach to do something is my area.” No, I have been on the other side. When I was the coach of the (Australia) national team, I managed the players because I knew they had to return to their teams,” he said.
“I trust Son Heung-min and Coach Klinsmann will manage through this process. The things that need to be done are not too dramatic. Son Heung-min is the player who can make the best decisions in these situations and he has not missed a game so far. , contributing greatly to the team,” he added.
From Coach Postekoglou’s perspective, it was difficult to exclude Son Heung-min from the selection. In the end, Son Heung-min was placed at the forefront even against Luton Town. The problem was that Bissouma was sent off and a variable arose. As a result, it is highly likely that there has been some change in the use of replacement cards. In the end, Son Heung-min sat on the bench after playing about 76 minutes.
Although he played the game against Luton Town without difficulty, the upcoming international match schedule in October may be a burden for Son Heung-min. The Republic of Korea national soccer team, led by coach Jurgen Klinsmann, will be convened at Paju NFC for training starting on the 9th. Korea will play a friendly match against Tunisia at Seoul World Cup Stadium on the 13th and then face Vietnam at Suwon World Cup Stadium on the 17th.
Son Heung-min, who will immediately board a plane to Korea, is likely to face Tunisia without being able to properly adjust to the time difference. However, it is difficult to exclude Son Heung-min. This is because Klinsmann is preparing for the 2023 Asian Football Confederation (AFC) Qatar Asian Cup in January. In fact, the only time we have to work together ahead of the tournament is these two games and the two international matches in November. In the end, like Coach Postekoglou, Coach Klinsmann will have to give Son Heung-min appropriate time to adjust his condition.
