SEOUL (AP) – Five days after facing each other in the Premier League, Son Heung-min and Hwang Hee-chan teamed up and scored a goal each to help South Korea beat Singapore 5-0 in World Cup qualifying on Thursday.
The continent’s top teams joined the Asian qualifying competition in the second round on Thursday. Australia and Japan also started with comfortable wins.
The Australians trounced Bangladesh 7-0 in Melbourne ahead of a trip to Kuwait, where the Palestinian team has elected to play its home game.
The Palestinians held Lebanon to a 0-0 draw on neutral turf in Sharjah, United Arab Emirates in their second-round opener. The game was moved from Lebanon because of the the security situation in the region amid the Israel-Hamas war.
Last Saturday, Hwang’s Wolverhampton beat Son’s Tottenham 2-1. Against Singapore, Hwang scored the second goal and Son got the third. Cho Gue-song, Hwang Ui-jo and Lee Kang-in also scored in Seoul as South Korea tries to reach its 11th straight World Cup.
Hwang, who has scored six Premier League goals for Wolves this season, headed in a cross from Cho in the 49th minute. Son, who has scored eight league goals this season, curled in a shot from the edge of the area soon after.
“I’ve practiced quite a bit from that particular spot. I am always confident when I take shots from there,” Son said. “Maybe it’s become a habit. And seeing the flight and speed of the shot, I thought it was going to go in.”
Son appeared to pick up an ankle injury late in the game but he stayed on the field to complete the 90 minutes.
“I am not the only one hurting out there. Everyone plays with some bumps and bruises,” Son said. “Playing for the national team is a tremendous honour … I can’t just give up just because I am hurt.”
