“Enjoy suffering? Klinsmann disagrees!” Tottenham fans react to Son Heung-min’s injury… “When a player gets injured, it’s natural to take a break!”

[OSEN=우충원 기자] “I disagree with Director Klinsmann’s opinion that we should endure the pain!”.

The Korean national soccer team, led by coach Jurgen Klinsmann, defeated Singapore 5-0 in the first leg of the second qualifying round of the Asian region for the 2026 FIFA North and Central America World Cup held at Seoul World Cup Stadium on the 16th.

As a result, Korea ranked first in Group C of the second preliminary round and started its journey toward advancing to the World Cup finals for the 11th consecutive time. Now, Korea will move to Shenzhen, China and play the second match against China on the 21st.

It was an easy victory. Korea, ranked 24th in the FIFA rankings, defeated Singapore (ranked 155th) for the first time in 33 years by 5 goals and went undefeated in 15 games (14 wins, 1 draw). Although there were goals canceled due to misjudgment and bad luck at the goalpost, they achieved a huge victory thanks to Cho Gyu-sung’s first goal at the end of the first half and a shower of goals from Hwang Hee-chan, Son Heung-min, Hwang Ui-jo and Lee Kang-in in the second half.

Captain Son Heung-min also added a goal. In the 17th minute of the second half, he caught the ball in the right space, eluded the defense, and pierced the corner of the goal with a fantastic left foot kick. It was a wonderful score that came from the so-called ‘Son Heung-min zone’. With this goal, he recorded 39 goals in international matches, narrowing the gap with Hwang Seon-hong (50 goals), the second highest scorer.

There was a heartbreaking moment. Son Heung-min fell due to a rough foul by Shah Shahiran in the last minute of the second half when the team was leading 4-0. After receiving a hard kick to his knee, he lay on the pitch for a while complaining of his pain. It was a questionable situation as to whether it was a serious injury. Medical staff were urgently dispatched to check Son Heung-min’s condition.

Fortunately, Son Heung-min got up after a while and played the full game safely and finished the game. After the game, Son Heung-min said, “I couldn’t feel my feet a little bit. I can’t give up the game just because I’m sick. There’s nothing I can do if I’m in a situation where I really can’t play, but as long as I can play, I’ll do my best for the team. “It’s okay now,” he reassured fans.

Coach Klinsmann did not hide his anger even after the game. When the story of Son Heung-min came up, he said, “I was angry when I saw him commit a foul in a 4-0 situation. It was an inappropriate and unnecessary foul. Did he really have to commit such a foul? I felt very angry at the moment.”

[OSEN=서울월드컵경기장, 조은정 기자]

[OSEN=박준형 기자]

[OSEN=박준형 기자]

[OSEN=박준형 기자]

However, Tottenham fans expressed the opposite opinion to Manager Klinsmann.

Spurs Web, a Tottenham fan site, criticized Son Heung-min, saying, “I hope Son Heung-min is okay. It seems that way from the interview,” and “But I cannot agree with Coach Klinsmann’s statement that he must endure the pain. When a player is injured, he must rest.” .

It is clear why Tottenham fans do not agree with Manager Klinsmann’s opinion. Because there are too many injuries.

Tottenham’s James Maddison and Mickey van der Ven are unable to play due to injuries. We had a problem against Chelsea and suffered our worst defeat against Wolverhampton.

Tottenham’s atmosphere has completely changed since the start of this season. With the arrival of coach Enzi Postecoglou, the team is playing attacking soccer.

In addition, Tottenham’s frontline striker Richarlison continues to perform poorly, and Son Heung-min is stepping up as a frontline striker.

Tottenham, who filled the void left by Harry Kane, who moved to Bayern Munich, enjoyed a winning streak with 10 wins and 2 draws in the opening 10 games of the league. However, Tottenham lost 1-4 against Chelsea, where two players fell due to injury, and lost 1-2 against Wolverhampton, putting them in an emergency situation. In particular, the absence of playmaker Maddison was a fatal blow to Tottenham. Maddison brought much-needed opportunity creation ability to the Tottenham midfield following the departure of Christian Eriksen (Manchester United).

However, with Maddison gone, the offensive opportunities provided to the front line, including Son Heung-min, appear to have been cut off. Naturally, Coach Postekoglou’s offensive football also appears to have clearly been put on hold. It is an assessment that it was clearly revealed how much importance Madison plays in the soccer that coach Postekoglou pursues. Above all, as Maddison’s return is postponed until next year, Tottenham’s breakthrough is unlikely.

In particular, Maddison and van der Ven will no longer be seen on the field this year. If Son Heung-min gets injured, it will be a fatal blow for Tottenham. / [email protected]

Woo Chung-won ([email protected])