Son shines for South Korea as Australia and China struggle in World Cup qualifying

Son Heung-min scored a spectacular goal as South Korea earned their first win in Asian World Cup qualifying with a 3-1 victory over Oman. Wolverhampton’s Hwang Hee-chan opened the scoring before Oman equalized through a Jung Seungh-hyun own goal. Son’s stunning left-footed strike in the 82nd minute gave South Korea the lead, and Joo Min-kyu sealed the win in added time.

In Jakarta, Australia’s struggles continued with a 0-0 draw against Indonesia in front of nearly 80,000 fans. Despite dominating the match, the Socceroos failed to score, with Bayern Munich’s Nestory Irankunda hitting the post. “It was our game all along,” said Irankunda. “We should have put them away in the first half.”

Meanwhile, China suffered another defeat, falling 2-1 to Saudi Arabia despite taking an early lead via an own goal by Ali Lajami. Saudi defender Hassan Kadish scored two headers to secure the win, including a last-minute goal that silenced the Chinese crowd in Dalian.

In wild conditions in Vientiane, North Korea drew 2-2 with Qatar after torrential rain caused a 20-minute delay. Uzbekistan also secured a 3-2 win over Kyrgyzstan in Group A.

(Source: AFP)