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[mdtoday = Reporter Minseok Choi] Son Heung-min (LAFC) has officially joined South Korea’s push toward the 2026 CONCACAF World Cup. He arrived at head coach Hong Myung-bo’s pre-tournament camp in Salt Lake City, Utah on May 25 (local time) and immediately began preparing for his fourth World Cup appearance.
With Son’s arrival, he and goalkeeper Kim Seung-gyu (Tokyo) are poised to appear in four consecutive World Cups. Only three Koreans — Hong Myung-bo, Hwang Sun-hong and Lee Woon-jae — have previously reached four World Cups. If Son takes the field in this tournament, he’ll join that exclusive group and further cement his place in Korean football history.
Son has three World Cup goals, tied with Ahn Jung-hwan and Park Ji-sung as Korea’s all-time World Cup top scorers. One more goal in this tournament would make him the nation’s outright leading scorer on the World Cup stage. He opened his World Cup account at Brazil 2014 and added two goals at Russia 2018.
Questions have surfaced about a dip in his club scoring, but Hong Myung-bo maintains confidence in Son’s impact. This season Son has emphasized creating chances over finishing, registering nine assists. “Football isn’t a solo sport,” Son said. “I focus on helping my teammates perform at their best rather than chasing individual numbers.”
His arrival brings the national team a step closer to full strength. Along with Son, Cho Kyu-sung (Midtjylland), Park Jin-seop (Zhejiang) and Hwang Hee-chan (Wolverhampton) checked into camp, bringing 24 of the final 26 players together. With Kim Min-jae (Bayern Munich) set to join on May 27 and Lee Kang-in (Paris Saint-Germain) on June 1, Hong’s squad will finally be complete.
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