Korea, which aims to win its first Group E title in 64 years, will play with Bahrain (Jan. 15), Jordan (Jan. 20) and Malaysia (Jan. 25) in Group E in turn. If Korea tops Group E, its opponent in the round of 16 teams will be No. 2 in Group D. It is one of Japan, Indonesia, Iraq and Vietnam. The second-ranked team will face the first-ranked team in Group F, which includes Saudi Arabia, Thailand, Kyrgyzstan, and Oman.
More than any other Asian team, Korea desperately needs the trophy. Korea, which is suffering from the Asian Cup jinx, has won the title in consecutive events in the first event in 1956 and the second event in 1960. However, Korea finished second only four times over the next 63 years, with no chance to win the title. Korea has always boasted Asia’s best performance, but strangely enough, there were many unfortunate scenes in the Asian Cup, and some even called it the “curse of the Asian Cup.”
In the 2015 Asian Cup in Australia, they lost to the host country Australia in extra time, and in the 2019 Asian Cup in Qatar, they lost to the winner Qatar 0-1 in the quarterfinals. That is why they have a different attitude toward the upcoming Asian Cup. In particular, the motivation is certain as there is a high possibility that it will be the last Asian Cup for Son Heung-min, the captain of the national team. 토토
Son is in good form. He has 12 goals and five assists to achieve 17 offensive points in 20 games this season. This is more than the 16 offensive points (10 goals and six assists) he had accumulated last season in the league. Son has surpassed his league record in just one season in 20 games. Notably, he had four goals and four assists in seven games in December.
This is the most points scored by any player in the PL in December. He has one goal and one assist against Manchester City, one goal and two assists against Newcastle, one goal against Everton, one assist against Brighton, and one goal against Bournemouth. Naturally, he was named PL Player of the Month in December
Competing alongside Son Heung-min are Alexander Arnold (one goal, two assists, Liverpool) and Matheus Cunha (three goals, three assists, Wolverhampton), Mohames Coods (four goals, West Ham), Michael Olise (four goals, one assist, Crystal Palace), Cole Palmer (four goals, two assists, Chelsea), Dominic Solanke (six goals, Bournemouth) and Marcos Sensi (two goals, one assist, Bournemouth).
In terms of attack points, Son is leading the pack with four goals and four assists. Team wins and losses are also not bad, with four wins, one draw and two losses. The likely contender is Bournemouth’s Solanke, who would have scored six goals, and his team also showed solid performance with four wins, one draw and one loss during the same period.
POTM determines a winner by summing up fan voting and expert evaluation. In POTM selection, less than 10 percent of the vote was reflected, but people ranked at the top were generally awarded the prize. In fact, Harry Maguire of Manchester United, the second-ranked voter in the POTM voting in November, was awarded the prize, which was lagging behind Jeremy Doku of Manchester City.
Against this backdrop, Son’s chances of winning a career fifth prize have virtually increased. In December’s POTM poll, Son overwhelmingly topped the list with 46.8 percent of the vote. The runner-up is Solanke with a 26 percent approval rating. Like last month’s award, Maguire may turn the tables in expert evaluations, but there is a possibility that the results of the vote will be reflected.
In fact, a Tottenham social media outlet said, “The December POTM is also Son Heung-min. We have obtained internal information. We will announce it on the 12th.” When their credibility was questioned, the media claimed, “We accurately predicted the awards of Son Heung-min and Coach Enze Postecoglou in September.”
Son Heung-min, a four-time champion, is tied with world class players along with Shearer, Thierry Henry, Dennis Bergkamp, and Frank Lampard. If he wins another championship, he will be tied with Robin van Persie, Wayne Rooney, and Mohamed Salah.
Meanwhile, the PL released on its official website on Tuesday the 11 best players that Shearer has picked himself. A legend who has scored 260 goals overall, Shearer selected the PL’s best team based on the current score of the 20th round. When placing Son on the left wing, Shearer praised Son, saying, “He has special talent. When he catches the ball in front of the goal, there is no doubt that he will score as it is.”
Through this move, Son Heung-min is on the path of Tottenham legend. In particular, fans’ trust and affection for Son Heung-min deepened as the fantastic Dudon Kane moved to Munich after several disturbances. As Hugo Lloris left after Kane, only Son Heung-min remained in the team among the starting members of the UCL final.
As trust added to Son’s move, all Tottenham fans became SON lovers. A female Tottenham fan said, “If Son Heung-min leaves our team, he will probably be more heartbroken than if Kane left,” adding, “I like both, but please Son Heung-min doesn’t leave us.”
This fan’s confession had a lot of repercussions. Other female fans also said, “I don’t even want to think about it,” or, “Don’t say it, just thinking about it makes me cry. He can’t leave.” One female fan said, “Please don’t say this. It’s a story that makes me cry every time I hear it.”