GOYANG, South Korea (AFP) – Son Heung-min said he “let my team-mates down” after South Korea stumbled in World Cup qualifying with a 1-1 home draw against Oman.
The Tottenham striker failed to get on the scoresheet on Thursday as the Koreans fluffed a chance to take a big step towards next summer’s tournament in the United States, Canada and Mexico.
Coach Hong Myung-bo branded the draw “our worst performance” in the third Asian qualifying round, having conceded the equaliser with 10 minutes left.
South Korea’s lead at the top of Group B was cut to three points ahead of both Jordan and Iraq, with only the top two teams qualifying automatically.
“I feel like I let my team-mates down today,” captain Son told reporters after the game in Goyang, near Seoul.
“But this is not the only match we’re going to play together.
“We have been able to create some positive situations to come this far. We should try to learn from this match and take the next step.”
South Korea are home to Jordan on Tuesday in a crucial encounter.
They also travel to face Iraq before Group B concludes in June.
“People might think this qualification round is easy but we have to work so hard for every match,” said Son, who has seen less playing time at Spurs this season after struggles with form and fitness.
“A match like this can teach us a lesson. We have to take whatever positives we can from this.”
South Korea opened the scoring late in the first half through Wolves’ Hwang Hee-chan but Oman grabbed a point late on in a rare attack.
Hong ripped into his team’s performance.
“We gave away the ball too easily and I got the feeling that we were not leading the match even though we were up by a goal,” the coach said.
“The opponent did not have a ton of chances but they still scored.”
