Son Heung-min (30, Tottenham Hotspur), who finished a goal drought by exploding a hat-trick in 13 minutes, returned to Korea through Incheon International Airport on the afternoon of the 19th to join the national team.
Son Heung-min, who appeared at the arrival hall wearing a dark hoodie, greeted the fans with a bright face and left the airport.
Son Heung-min was replaced in the second half of the match against Leicester City in the 8th round of the English Premier League (EPL), the last game before boarding the plane to Korea, and scored three goals in about 13 minutes, raising expectations for his performance in the national team.
Heung-Min Son is the first player to score a hat-trick after playing as a substitute for Tottenham in the EPL.
This is a record that only happened seven times in the Premier League, and in September 2015, Steven Naismith of Everton scored three goals against Chelsea, just before Heung-Min Son.
For Heung-Min Son, who had not scored a goal in the eighth game since the opening before this match, it was a welcome performance to shake off the troubles of the past.
Son Heung-min, who led Leicester City to a 6-2 victory, said to the broadcaster after the match, “I had a difficult time in the beginning of the season, and to be honest, I was frustrated.”
According to a representative of the national team, Son Heung-min will join the Paju National Team Training Center (NFC), which has 20 players out of 26 entries.
In addition, European players who played their team’s schedule over the weekend, such as Kang-in Lee (Mallorca), Min-jae Kim (Naples), Ui-Jo Hwang, In-beom Hwang (Olympiacos), and Woo-Young Jung (Freiburg), will participate in the late afternoon of the day and over the 20th.
The national team, led by coach Paulo Bento, will take two ‘September mock exams’ in preparation for the Qatar World Cup scheduled for November against Costa Rica on the 23rd and Cameroon on the 27th.
/yunhap news