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Captain Son Heung-min 'proud' of youngsters for encouraging showing vs. Paraguay

Published: 15 Oct. 2025, 08:55

Korea captain Son Heung-min acknowledges fans after a 2-0 win over Paraguay in the teams' friendly football match at Seoul World Cup Stadium in Seoul on Oct. 14. [YONHAP]

With their 2-0 win over Paraguay in a friendly match Tuesday night in Seoul, just four days after a demoralizing 5-0 defeat to Brazil, Korean players made Son Heung-min a proud captain.

Son did not factor into scoring and only logged 45 minutes of action, but 20-something youngsters Eom Ji-sung and Oh Hyeon-gyu took care of the scoring in the victory at Seoul World Cup Stadium in Seoul.

"After a big loss like the one we had, players can feel discouraged, and it can show on the field," Son said. "And to see my teammates put that behind and pounce on their chances, I felt really grateful as their captain. The biggest key was we did our thing and executed our plan, regardless of what the other team was trying to do."

Son, 33, played about 65 minutes against Brazil and then only the first half against Paraguay. He said he is always ready to play a full 90 minutes, but as long as head coach Hong Myung-bo gives him a heads-up about his usage plans, Son is perfectly fine watching from the bench.

"I felt we all competed toward our common goal and had control of the match," Son observed. "When some of the young guys play as well as they did today, I feel really proud as their captain. I want to see them do even better down the road."

Son insisted, though, Korea will still have work cut out as they gear up for next summer's FIFA World Cup.

Son Heung-min of Korea, left, dribbles the ball against Paraguay during the teams' friendly football match at Seoul World Cup Stadium in Seoul on Oct. 14. [KIM JUNG-HOON]

"I think we have to pay attention to small details," he said. "And when we go up against strong teams, we have to think about how we can be more aggressive. For instance, I think we respected Brazil too much, and that had a big influence on the result. We now know it hurts to get punched like that, and we have to learn how to fight back."

Tuesday's match was played in front of only about 22,000 fans, about a third of the crowd that had turned out for the Brazil match. When asked if it felt strange to see so many empty seats at the big stadium, Son said, "I think we have to be appreciative of the fans who came today."

"If we play better football and more entertaining football, then, I am sure fans will return to the stadium," he said. "That's our responsibility."

Yonhap