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Son Heung-min, captain of the South Korean men's national football team, prepares for a training session at Goyang Stadium in Goyang, Gyeonggi Province on Tuesday. (Yonhap) |
South Korean captain Son Heung-min earned his 128th international cap on Thursday to grab the sole possession of fourth place on the country's all-time list.
Son was inserted into the starting lineup against Palestine in the countries' Group B match of the third round in the Asian qualification for the 2026 FIFA World Cup. The match was to kick off at 8 p.m. at Seoul World Cup Stadium.
Son, captain for both South Korea and the Premier League club Tottenham Hotspur, had been tied with Lee Young-pyo, former left back and one-time Tottenham player.
Son is now five caps back of former goalkeeper Lee Woon-jae for third place. Son's current national team head coach, Hong Myung-bo, and former striker Cha Bum-kun are tied at the top with 136 caps each.
Among active players, only Son and defender Kim Young-gwon have collected at least 100 caps. Kim made the starting lineup Thursday for his 112th cap.
Son, 32, is also third on the South Korean goal scoring list with 48. Cha is the leader in this category with 58, and another former striker, Hwang Sun-hong, is in second place with 50.
No other active player even has 20 goals.
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