Soccer-No league goals is no World Cup worry for South Korea skipper Son


Soccer Football - International Friendly - South Korea v Ivory Coast - Stadium MK, Milton Keynes, Britain - March 28, 2026 South Korea's Son Heung-Min Action Images via Reuters/Andrew Boyers

May 27 (Reuters) - South Korea captain ⁠Son Heung-min is unconcerned by his lack of goals in this Major League ⁠Soccer (MLS) season and believes he will find the net at the World Cup ‌if he puts his team first.

The 33-year-old forward, once one of the most prolific goalscorers in England at Tottenham Hotspur, has yet to hit the mark for Los Angeles FC in the league so far this ​season.

"A lot of people are worried, but I'm only worried ⁠if I am not playing well. ⁠I don't think that's the case now," Son told the Yonhap News Agency after joining ⁠up ‌with the South Korea squad at their Utah base.

"Physically, I am feeling great. But in other interviews, I joked that I was probably saving goals for ⁠the World Cup."

Son has scored 54 goals in 142 appearances ​for his country, including three ‌over his three previous World Cup campaigns.

One more in this year's tournament would ⁠make him South ​Korea's record scorer at soccer's global showpiece but Son said the last thing on his mind was individual targets.

"If I put the team above all else and worry about how I can best ⁠help the team first, then goals will naturally follow," ​he said.

"That's how I've been playing my whole career, and that mindset won't change."

The Taegeuk Warriors, who will be taking part in their 11th straight edition of the World Cup, reached ⁠the last 16 four years ago in Qatar before going out to Brazil.

This year, they will face co-hosts Mexico, South Africa and the Czech Republic in the group stage, kicking off their campaign against the Czechs in Guadalajara on June 11.

Son said the players would ​be focusing on getting the details right rather than their ⁠potential path through the tournament in their training camp.

"Of course, we want to do better than ​at the last World Cup," he said.

"But we can't ‌predict the future. Other teams will be preparing ​just as hard. Rather than talking about the outcome, it's important to do our best each and every day."

(Reporting by Nick Mulvenney, editing by Peter Rutherford)

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