South Korea look to feed off Son’s Europa glory in World Cup qualifiers

South Korea hope Son Heung-min’s European success can rub off on the national side when the skipper leads them into crucial World Cup qualifiers next week. 

Fresh from lifting the Europa League trophy with Tottenham Hotspur, Son will captain a South Korea squad named Monday who need just a draw against Iraq in Basra on June 5 to reach the World Cup.

Failing that, the Koreans will have another chance to clinch a spot in next year’s showpiece in the USA, Canada and Mexico against Kuwait in Seoul five days later.

South Korea coach Hong Myung-bo said he hoped to squeeze even more out of his captain before the end of the season after Son won his first major trophy after 10 years at Tottenham.

“He has always done so well for himself individually, and for him to be captain of the team that won such a big title is something we should be proud of,” Hong said of Tottenham’s 1-0 win over Manchester United in the Europa League final in Bilbao last week.

“After a long season there is no reward quite like lifting a trophy at the end. 

“Hopefully his victory will have some positive impact on the national team.”

Bayern Munich defender Kim Min-jae was left out of the squad because of injury.

South Korea top Asian qualifying Group B on 16 points with two rounds of matches to be played. Jordan are second on 13, Iraq third on 12 and Oman fourth on 10.

The top two teams qualify for the World Cup, with the next two progressing into a further round of qualifying.