Son Heung-min apologizes to teammates after missing golden chance in Saudi loss

South Korea captain Son Heung-min of LAFC expressed regret and apologized to his teammates after failing to convert a clear-cut scoring opportunity in a 2-3 friendly loss to Saudi Arabia.

Speaking to reporters after the match at Jassim bin Hamad Stadium in Doha, Qatar, on Friday (Korean Standard Time), Son said: "When a chance comes, I need to play a decisive role, but today I couldn't do that, and I feel very sorry to my teammates. Moments like this always make me reflect deeply on myself."

Son started alongside Oh Hyeon-gyu of Besiktas in a two-striker formation and played the full 90 minutes, but was unable to reach the milestone of his 60th international goal.

The most glaring opportunity came in the 66th minute, with South Korea trailing 1-3, when the Saudi goalkeeper's clearance dropped directly in front of Son near the center of the penalty area.

Son struck the ball hard with his right foot, but it sailed well over the crossbar.

Lee Jae-sung of Mainz pulled one back two minutes later after receiving a pass from Hwang Hee-chan of Schalke, but South Korea could not find an equalizer and fell 2-3.

The miss proved all the more costly in hindsight, as a goal at that moment could have changed the outcome.

"It is very disappointing that the results have not matched the effort we put in," Son said. "It is unfortunate that things did not go the way we wanted, but we need to keep moving forward and prepare well for the Qatar match on Nov. 17."

On being given the full 90 minutes by head coach Roberto Moreno, who has emphasized the captain's role, Son said: "Of course I am frustrated. I cannot always guarantee a goal every time a chance comes. That is something I feel very sorry about to my teammates, and it is something I will carry with me."

Asked about the noticeable difference in the team's performance between the first and second halves, Son said the criticism was understandable. "Looking at the result, those comments are inevitable," he said. "In the first half, we may not have executed what we wanted. In the second half, we were chasing the game and taking bigger risks, which may have made us look better. We need to analyze what worked and what did not, and use that to improve."

Son said he still found positives in the performance. "Football is a sport where even 11 players with the exact same mindset can struggle to produce results," he said. "I thought there were many good things today. It is a shame that those positives are being overshadowed by the result."

"The players communicated a great deal on the pitch," he added. "Time will definitely take care of things."

Son said the two goals South Korea scored were the product of deliberate pattern play. "The two goals we scored today came from the pattern play we had been working on — the fact that our training based on opponent analysis produced results is clearly a positive," he said. "There were areas where we lacked detail, and filling those gaps going forward is important. We will train harder and show a better performance against Qatar."