Son Heung-min Starts Against Uzbekistan Chasing Historic Record-Breaking 59th International Goal

Summary South Korea’s national football captain Son Heung-min has been named in the starting lineup for an international friendly against Uzbekistan, putting him on the brink of rewriting Korean football history. The clash, set to take place at the Yongin Mireu Stadium in Gyeonggi Province, marks the fourth and final fixture in South Korea's autumn friendly match series managed by head coach Robert Moreno. All eyes across South Korea are fixed on whether Son can net his 59th career international goal. Currently tied with legendary striker and former national team manager Cha Bum-kun, a single goal against Uzbekistan would make Son the outright all-time leading international goalscorer for the South Korean men's national football team. The race to surpass Cha—a towering pioneer of Korean football celebrated for his Bundesliga dominance in the 1980s—carries immense symbolic weight for Korean sports enthusiasts. Son has already delivered strong individual performances across the friendly series, having struck twice in his previous three outings. He showcased his trademark precision with a direct free-kick goal (his 57th) during a 3-0 rout of Ecuador, followed by scoring Korea's lone goal (his 58th) in a tough 4-1 defeat against Uruguay. After failing to find the net during a scoreless, lackluster draw against Venezuela, Son returns leading the frontline, determined to cap off the friendly window with a historic milestone. For this match, Coach Moreno has restructured the attacking line, pairing Son with Oh Se-hun as a two-man strike partner instead of Oh Hyeon-gyu, who started the previous three contests. Supporting them on the flanks are prominent stars Hwang Hee-chan and Lee Kang-in, with Park Jin-seob and Lee Jae-sung anchoring the midfield. The defensive backline features centre-backs Kim Tae-hyeon and Lee Han-beom alongside full-backs Kim Tae-hyeon and Cho Hyun-taek, guarded by goalkeeper Jo Hyeon-woo. Meanwhile, star defender Kim Min-jae was omitted from the matchday roster entirely after missing team training following the Venezuela encounter.