Son Heung-min is two goals away from becoming South Korea's greatest ever scorer — and he's got a World Cup to do it in.
The 33-year-old played his fourth World Cup match on Friday against Czechia at Estadio Guadalajara, adding another chapter to a career that has made him the undisputed face of Korean football for over a decade. He sits on 56 international goals from 144 caps. The record he's chasing belongs to former striker Cha Bum-kun, who set the bar at 58.
The weight of 144 caps
To understand what Son means to this South Korea side, look at who's behind him. Lee Jae-Sung is next in the caps list with 105 — nearly 40 fewer than Son. That gap isn't just a number. It tells you how dependent this team has been on one man for years.
Son made his World Cup debut in Brazil in 2014, then Russia in 2018, then Qatar in 2022. Now here he is in North America, still the talisman, still the one Korean football revolves around. He plays his club football in MLS with Los Angeles FC these days, but at international level, nothing has changed.
What the record means for bettors watching South Korea
South Korea's tournament odds are closely tied to how Son performs — that's simply the reality of a squad built so heavily around one player. If he gets those two goals and breaks Cha Bum-kun's record during this tournament, it'll likely come in a match where Korea need him most. His scoring odds and any anytime scorer markets are worth tracking as the group stage progresses.
Cha Bum-kun set his record over a different era of Korean football. Son breaking it — at a World Cup, in his fourth tournament — would be the cleaner story. He needs just two more to write it.
