Son continues to shine for Tottenham but does he get enough recognition?

Son Heung-Min wasn’t even 10 years old when South Korea reached the World Cup semi finals on home soil in 2002, and it was that very competition, seeing for himself the magic and hope that surrounds football that made Son pursue his own dreams.

After spells with FC Seoul in his youth years he had a huge cultural change ahead of him when he joined Hamburg in the Bundesliga in 2010. His potential was then snapped up by Bayer Leverkusen before Tottenham came calling in 2015.

Son has been ever reliable for the Premier League team, setting up goals, scoring them and always getting those important ones. He has been an integral part of the side even if he has started some games from the bench, he is as important as Ole Gunnar Solskjaer was to Manchester United in the late 1990s and early 2000s. But arguably one could question if Son is not getting enough media treatment and enough appreciation. In a side who continue to be touted as amongst the favourites to win trophies, Son is just as an important as Harry Kane, and has ended up being a superb purchase for the club.

Whilst it’s true that Son is not scoring as many goals as Kane, it is what he does on the pitch too. Drawing defenders out, using neat tricks and his pace to create space and he is very popular with the players and fans. One has to wonder if Son is one of the best Asian players to grace the league.

There have in the past been quality like Tim Cahill of Everton, or Shinji Kagawa who had a few seasons at Manchester United. The one player that really sticks out though is Park Ji-Sung, who won over 10 trophies for Manchester United. Though Park was used mainly as a super sub there is no question of his quality and his influence over the Red Devils in the games that mattered, culminating in winning the Champions League in 2008 in all an English final against Chelsea.

But that is in the past and this is the present and Son continues to shine. He recently won the goal of the month for his superb solo effort against Chelsea. A goal that helped Tottenham to win the game 3-1 and inflict Chelsea’s first defeat of the season.

He has had a memorable week too- scoring at the Emirates as Spurs knocked out Arsenal in the Carabao Cup and then scoring a brace against Everton this weekend in a rousing 6-2 victory. The media pages need to be filled a little less with the brilliant Kane, and a little more with the also very brilliant Son, who may just be warming up to be one of the best Asian players to grace his name in the major European leagues.

Best Goalkeeper of the Week – Alisson Becker (Brazil)

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With the group stages of the Russia 2018 World Cup now firmly in the history books and the round of 16 having begun in earnest, let’s take a look at which goalkeeper has been the best over the past few days. There have been some notable performances of course – Jordan Pickford‘s outing for England against Belgium brought some harsh criticism despite the fact that Belgium’s goal, scored by former Sunderland team-mate Adnan Januzaj, was a belter. Otherwise the Everton stopper had a solid game as usual. Kasper Schmeichel had a great game for Denmark even though the former European champions crashed out at the hands of Croatia, and Hyun-Woo Cho deserves credit as South Korea kept a clean sheet against world champions Germany to send them home.

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World Cup Weekly Recap

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A couple of shockers, late drama, clutch goals: the third round of the group stage did not fall flat. The biggest surprise was obviously Germany dropping the ball against South Korea: Die Mannschaft just had to win two-nil (or more) to be safe, but despite multiple good chances, they did not manage to score and eventually the Taeguk Warriors took advantage of their unbalanced tactics and punished them, much to the jubilation of Mexico.

The World Cup Champion curse continues, as also Spain in 2014, Italy in 2010 and France in 2002 also were not able to get past the first phase after lifting the trophy. Continue reading

Germany Eliminated From the World Cup

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Just about the biggest shock imaginable at this summer’s World Cup has now taken place. With almost every major international tournament there are a few surprises in store, particularly during the earlier stages when some of the less fancied teams take to the field with a point to prove. That proved to be the case in Group F when Germany went up against South Korea on Wednesday afternoon, needing a win to smooth a path through to the last 16. What ensued was a thoroughly sub-par performance from the reigning world champions, and two injury time goals in South Korea’s favour ensured Germany were out of the competition at the first hurdle for the first time since 1938. South Korea went ballistic, but the Germans were atrocious.

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World Cup Weekly Preview

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The second round will end today with England looking to secure the qualification against Panama. Japan and Senegal will square off in the afternoon, trying to maintain the momentum they obtained after the surprise wins in their respective debuts. The main event will be Poland versus Colombia, where both teams need a win to bounce back to stay alive.

Let’s recap the already sealed verdicts ahead of the third and final match. Four squads have gained access to the elimination stage: Russia and Uruguay in the group A, France and Croatia in C and D one. Continue reading

World Cup Weekly Preview

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Two contenders will take the field on Sunday: Germany will square off against Mexico, while the Neymar-led Brazil will take on Switzerland, both looking to get off on the right foot, but their opponents are no pushovers. Today’s first game will be between Costa Rica and Serbia.

Two other top national teams will make their debut in Russia on Monday: Belgium will face Panama and England will challenge Tunisia. They will try to take advantage of favourable match-ups on paper. The slate will be opened by Sweden versus South Korea. Two intriguing teams in the second tier, Colombia and Poland, will day view on Tuesday, respectively against Japan and Senegal.  Continue reading

Euro Fantasy League Podcast – #19 – World Cup 2018: Groups D-F Preview

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The next of our World Cup preview episodes sees Jamie and Dave discuss Groups D-F, with particular topics of note including the coaching position at Nigeria (8:28), the Serbian national team (17:48) and the interesting man that is Joachim Low (20:44).

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