Son Heung-min (Tottenham), captain of the Korean national soccer team, was captured encouraging a Chinese goalkeeper who was crying after losing the game.
On the afternoon of the 11th, the 2026 FIFA North and Central America World Cup Asia 2nd qualifying match between Korea and China was held at Seoul World Cup Stadium.
Both teams ended the first half without scoring.
Afterwards, in the 16th minute of the second half, Lee Kang-in (Paris Saint-Germain) sent an accurate long pass to Son Heung-min, who was penetrating into the penalty box from midfield.
And when Son Heung-min’s pass came out in front of the goal, Lee Kang-in rushed in quickly and cut into the Chinese net with a left-footed shot.
Korea won 1-0, holding on to Lee Kang-in’s winning goal.
When the final whistle blew, Chinese goalkeeper Wang Da-lei sat down in front of the goal and shed tears.
It was time for a fellow player to help him up as he was feeling disappointed.
Son Heung-min came over and hugged Wang Dal-lei, who was crying, patted his head and offered consolation.
Wang Da-lei also responded by patting Son Heung-min on the back.
The brief 5-second hug became a hot topic not only among Korean but also Chinese netizens.
The video was posted on local social media sites such as Weibo with the hashtag “Son Heung-min hugged Wang Da-lei.”
“We definitely gritted our teeth,” Wang Da-lei said in an interview with China’s CCTV after the game. “We control all opportunities and fate, not others.
So, I had no choice but to do my best until the end.”
He said, “What we faced was the strongest Korean team so far.”
When asked if he had any regrets about the game, he said, “I can only do what I can, given my ability. “It’s so unfortunate,” he said.
He was sobbing in the middle of the interview that he couldn’t speak.
With this victory, Korea finished the second round of the World Cup qualifiers with 5 wins and 1 draw, and virtually confirmed securing the top seed for the 3rd round.
The third preliminary round will be held in three groups, and the first and second place winners of each group will advance to the World Cup finals, and the seed will be determined by the FIFA rankings in June.
The current FIFA ranking of Asian countries is Japan (18th) – Iran (20th) – Korea (23rd) – Australia (24th).
Depending on the result of the final match, they could have been upset by Australia and lost the top seed, but with the win against China, the chances of Australia’s comeback were slim.
It has increased the possibility of avoiding difficult enemies Japan and Iran in the third preliminary round.
China barely escaped the risk of being eliminated from the World Cup qualifiers.
Thailand only won 3-1 against Singapore.
China tied with Thailand in points, goal difference, and most goals, and advanced to the third preliminary round ahead of the winner-take-all rule.
by 토토사이트