Asian Games: Son Heung-min one step away from South Korea military pardon after semi-final win over Vietnam

Son agreed to play with South Korea at the pan-Asia quadrennial event as one of three overage players allowed in the squad in a final attempt at avoiding a spell of mandatory military service that could harm his Premier League career with Tottenham Hotspur.

The 3-1 scoreline didn’t tell the whole story at Pakansari Stadium outside Jakarta, with Vietnam enjoying the lion’s share of possession as well as registering more shots on goal than their opponents.

But the quality of Korea’s build-up play, driven on by Son who grabbed an assist as the creative fulcrum of his side once again, paired with the sharp-shooting of the free-scoring Hwang Ui-jo, who grabbed his ninth goal of the competition, proved the difference.

Afterwards, Son said he thought his side had done enough to win the game.

“We deserved the win,” Son said. “We had lots of chances to score. I think we are better players so we dominated the game.”

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