Ange Postecoglou has reason to worry after what Tottenham ace Son Heung-min did on Thursday
Tottenham star Son Heung-min might have gotten himself on the scoresheet for South Korea against Thailand, but other areas of his performance showed signs of a player low on confidence.
Son has been one of Spurs’ standout performers under Ange Postecoglou this season.
He leads the scoring charts at Tottenham, with 14 goals in the Premier League so far, while he has also provided a further eight assists in the same competition.
However, since his return from the Asian Cup, Son’s scoring has slowed down ever so slightly, with the 31-year-old finding the back of the net just twice in his last five Premier League outings.
With Tottenham set for a fierce battle to finish in a UEFA Champions League spot, Postecoglou will need his talisman at his best if Spurs are to qualify for Europe’s elite competition.
The Australian will hope that some time away with his national team might help Son to rediscover his best form, although based on his performance against Thailand on Thursday (21 March), that doesn’t look to be the case.
Tottenham ace Son Heung-min was particularly wasteful for South Korea against Thailand
South Korea and Thailand played out a 1-1 draw in their 2026 FIFA World Cup qualifier, and while that leaves Son’s side top of Group C, they are now just three points ahead of third-placed Thailand.
Although the result will have done little to dent South Korea’s confidence in qualifying for the 2026 World Cup, it might have gone a long way in denting Son’s confidence, especially after his performance against Fulham.
Son was largely anonymous as Tottenham were beaten 3-0 by Marco Silva’s side at Craven Cottage.
As per Sofascore, he failed to register a single shot on target and was only successful with four of his seven dribbles.
Although he did create one big chance and complete 91 per cent of his passes, he struggled with the physicality of the clash, winning just 40 per cent of his ground duels, while he also gave possession away 10 times.
It was not Son’s finest day, and he would have been keen to put that behind him with a convincing performance and victory over Thailand.
However, despite getting on the scoresheet, Son was far from convincing against opposition of a much lower quality than what he is used to facing in the Premier League.
Son had four shots on target but was only able to find the back of the net once, missing one big chance and seeing two of his shots miss the target entirely.
While he did once again create one big chance, he was only successful with 87 per cent of his passes and failed to provide an accurate cross into the box from two attempts.
He also won just two of his four ground duels and one of his three aerial duels, once again struggling to make his mark from a physical point of view.
While it was by no means a disastrous performance, considering Son’s ability he would have been expecting much more from himself against a team ranked 101st in the FIFA Men’s World Rankings, which is 79 places lower than 22nd-ranked South Korea.
It is perhaps a sign that he is not quite at his best, and Postecoglou will need that to change quickly.
In other Tottenham news, one Spurs star has suffered a setback after undergoing surgery this week.
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