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| South Korean forward Son Heung-min, right, stands with teammate Lee Kang-in after a friendly match with Cameroon at Seoul World Cup Stadium, Tuesday. / Yonhap |
By John Duerden
Official preparations for the World Cup are over until November for South Korea. Tuesday's 1-0 win over Cameroon in Seoul was the last time that all the players will be together before they leave for Qatar in November. There may be a couple of friendly games before the opening game against Uruguay on November 24 but the next time the full-strength team gets together is going to be in the Middle East.
It has been a long road to Qatar and it started way back in 2019 before the start of the global pandemic. There are still questions around the team but it was welcome that it all ended with a win against Cameroon. Once again, it was Son Heung-min who came to the rescue.
The Tottenham Hotspur star headed home the only goal of the game eight minutes into the second half. A fierce shot from left-back Kim Jin-su could only be parried by the visiting goalkeeper and there was Son to steer the ball into the unguarded net.
Defensively it was a decent performance from the home team, though it is questionable at what level Cameroon, who will face Brazil, Serbia and Switzerland at the World Cup, approached the game as they did not bring some of their best players to East Asia. The Africans had chances but in the end, Korea took a confidence-boosting win.
It was an improved performance over Friday's 2-2 draw with Costa Rica. Fans had turned up then expecting to see a win against the Central Americans. It was not a great defensive showing with too much space for the opposition. It took a late free-kick from who else but Son to level the score and avoid what would have been a slightly embarrassing defeat.
There is an overreliance on Son in an attacking sense that coach Paulo Bento has been unable or unwilling to alleviate. It is likely to be too late for anything to change now and it is very difficult indeed to see the 2002 World Cup semi-finalist finishing in the top two of Group H if the English Premier League Golden Boot winner from last season does not shine. Rightly or wrongly, a lot depends on Son.
Another Korean playing at a high level in Europe is Lee Kang-in. The midfielder was finally called by Bento for the two games but did not get a single minute on the field, raising the question of why he made the long journey east from Mallorca. Few understand why in a team that has a limited pool of creativity, one player who can provide such qualities and is playing well in one of the world's top leagues ― Spain's La Liga ― is not getting time from the coach. It has become an issue of contention with fans and media constantly asking why and Bento looking increasingly irritated at receiving the question.
It feels as if the relationship between Bento and the national team is going to end in December whatever happens. This is natural as he has been in place for four years, longer than most coaches manage in Korea. The hope is that it ends with a bang in Qatar.
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