The U.S. Men’s National Team (USMNT) lost 2-0 to South Korea in an international friendly at Sports Illustrated Stadium on Saturday night. Son Heung-Min, the Tottenham legend who made a high-profile move to LAFC in MLS last month, was at the heart of Korea’s attack and was involved in both goals, scoring and assisting once.
Both countries have qualified for next year’s World Cup — the U.S. by hosting and South Korea through the Asian confederation qualifiers in June.
The LAFC forward cut open the USMNT defence easily with a well-timed run in between Tim Ream and Tristan Blackmon in the 18th minute for the first goal.
Blackmon earned his first international cap on Saturday night. Since moving to the Vancouver Whitecaps in 2022, the 26-year-old has been a stalwart in a backline that has kept 12 clean sheets so far this season.
Korea built up play along the left flank early in the match, and Jae-Sung Lee’s incisive through-ball was weighted to fall into Son’s stride, and the former Premier League Golden Boot winner set off with three dark-blue shirts chasing after him.
It looked like he had taken it too far, but swiped it across the face of Matthew Freese’s goal to raucous cheers. Son celebrated with his signature camera gesture while his former Tottenham manager, Mauricio Pochettino, watched on.
South Korea doubled its lead in the 43rd minute with a quick, tiki-taka-esque, team goal — with Son and Lee involved again in the build-up. Seung-Ho Paik’s pass took out the U.S.’s midfield pair while finding Son.
He played a quick one-two with Lee at the edge of the box to get past the defensive line, and the former Tottenham Hotspur forward squared it to the scorer, Dong-gyeong Lee, for the easy tap-in.
The U.S. started slowly despite dominating possession, and could not fashion out a clear-cut chance in the first 45 minutes.
Christian Pulisic, Sergiño Dest, Josh Sargent, and Timothy Weah returned to the squad and the starting XI after being omitted from the Gold Cup roster this summer.
Sargent looked the brightest of the quartet, making runs in behind that troubled South Korea’s back five at times. He was hauled off as part of a quadruple substitution that was initiated by Weah’s injury in the 62nd minute. The Olympique de Marseille right-winger came off for Chris Richards while the U.S. were 2-0 down.
The substitutions ignited some urgency in the U.S.’s play, with Florian Balogun standing out and finding four shots, three on target, in his 28-minute performance.
Hyeon-woo Jo denied the former Arsenal man at his near post in injury time, producing a stunning double-save at point-blank range to keep a clean sheet.
Jo did well to keep another U.S. chance out in the 74th minute, when a scramble from a corner saw two U.S. players take a swipe at the ball. Neither could find the connection with the ball, and Kim Min-Jae cleared it away.
The USMNT built up pressure late in the second half, but the team started pushing for a goal too late. There were a few opportunities in Korea’s third where the U.S. players knocked the ball around the penalty box, as if asking a teammate to find and create a chance.
It must’ve felt like an away match for the U.S., as well. The stadium was covered in a sea of Korean red, and the crowd cheered Son’s every touch. Korean flags were on display, and national unity was shown in the stands and on the pitch.
The U.S. will travel to Columbus, OH, to face Japan in their next international window friendly on Tuesday.
