After a confidence-boosting “10-goal clean sheet” streak in two matches during the October A-Match, the national soccer team’s leading international players are back in action for their respective clubs.
Son Heung-min, who holds the title of “captain” for both the national team and his club, Tottenham Hotspur, will take on Fulham in the ninth round of the English Premier League (EPL) at Tottenham Hotspur Stadium in London, England, on October 24 at 4:00 a.m. ET.
Son, who is tied for second in the EPL with six goals this season, has recently adjusted his conditioning during this month’s A matches in South Korea amid health concerns, including muscle problems.
He remained on the bench for South Korea’s 4-0 victory over Tunisia on the 13th, and played the full match against Vietnam on the 17th, scoring the team’s fourth goal in a 6-0 victory, to signal his fitness.
Son’s recovery is also good news for Tottenham.
Sitting atop the standings (20 points) after eight games (6 wins, 2 draws) since the start of the EPL season, Tottenham is poised to rack up more points with a string of games against mid-table teams like Crystal Palace and Chelsea, starting with 12th-place Fulham (11 points).
Ahead of Son Heung-min in the EPL, Wolverhampton’s “Korean Guy” Hwang Hee-chan is set to take on Bournemouth away from home on November 21 at 11pm.
Hwang has been on fire in the EPL, scoring in his last two games and three consecutive games in all competitions for Wolverhampton, including the League Cup.
With five league goals, he is tied for fourth in the league behind the likes of Elling Holland (Manchester City – eight) and Son Heung-min, and he also found the back of the net in the A-League match against Vietnam to prove his recent form.
Currently 14th in the EPL (8 points), Wolverhampton are looking to bounce back from a poor start to the league with one win and four losses in their first five games, but have won one and drawn two in their last three, making the performance of the team’s top scorer all the more important.
After returning home with a gold medal from the Hangzhou Asian Games, Lee is looking to make his mark at Paris Saint-Germain (PSG) in France.
Lee, who joined the French top-flight this season, missed about a month with a left quadriceps injury after the second round of the league in August.
He returned to action against Dortmund (Germany) in the UEFA Champions League (UCL) on September 20, but didn’t have much time to make an impact for the club as he left shortly afterward to compete in the Asian Games.
With his Asian Games gold medal and military service benefits giving him a stable foothold in Europe, Lee has been in fine form with three goals and an assist, including a goal on his A-League debut, and is back in France for a midnight Ligue 1 Round 9 home game against Strasbourg on Feb. 22.
In the German Bundesliga, the team’s defensive core, Kim Min-jae (Bayern Munich), will face off against second-stringer Lee Jae-sung (Mainz).
Their respective clubs will face off in the eighth round of the Bundesliga at Mainz’s home stadium, the Meva Arena, at 1:30 a.m. on Aug. 22.
The match, which will be Kim Min-jae’s first “Korean derby” in Germany, will be watched by Germany national team coach Jürgen Klinsmann.메이저놀이터
Klinsmann played for Munich as a player and led the club as a coach.
Stuttgart, featuring ‘Asian Games top scorer’ Jung Woo-young, will take on Union Berlin away on the 21st at 10:30pm.
It will be the first time since early last month that Jung has played for his club after competing in the Asian Games and appearing in an A-match.
Not normally a prolific goal scorer, Jung exploded for eight goals at the Asian Games and found the back of the net in the A-Match, so it will be interesting to see if he can continue his goal-scoring form with his club.
In the Bundesliga, Leverkusen currently sits atop the table with 19 points, while Stuttgart (18 points) and Munich (17 points) are battling for second and third place, respectively, with Mainz languishing in 17th place (2 points).
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