Out of all the incredible players who have suited up for Tottenham Hotspur over the years from Dimitar Berbatov and Dele Alli to Harry Kane and Gareth Bale, perhaps no world class footballer in the club's history is as beloved as South Korean international Son Heung-min, who got to walk away with his head held high as a European champion - the first time the Lilywhites had won such a trophy in more than 40 years.
Son is currently enjoying life and club football in the United States with MLS powerhouse LAFC, but he has an even bigger task this summer as he prepares for what is hopefully another entrance into the group stages for South Korea, historically one of the top teams in Asia.
And Son himself has a chance to do something historic this tournament, too. If he were to score just three more goals and take full advantage of the group stages, Son would officially become the highest scoring player in the history of the South Korean national team.
Son Heung-min is close to a massive South Korean record
Currently, Son is second of all time in the country's history with 56 goals for the national team in 144 games as a winger and forward. Sitting in first is another former Bayer Leverkusen star in the Bundesliga, forward Cha Bum-kun, one of the best players in the history of both South Korean and German football.
Although Son Heung-min is an incredible player, Bum-kun, known as "Cha Boom" by some fans, was also an amazing striker with a powerful finish and presence up top. Bum-kun scored 58 goals in 136 caps, fewer than Son, and they are two of the only three players in the history of South Korea with at least 50 goals. The other? Hwang Sun-hong with exactly 50, a striker who was a prospect for Bayer Leverkusen but was mostly famous for his scoring exploits outside of European football.
South Korea will play their first game of the 2026 World Cup on opening night against Czechia, and while their opponents have quality footballers like familiar right back Vladimir Coufal of Hoffenheim (and West Ham fame), they should be a good candidate for Son to get his first goal of the tournament against.
Thereafter, South Korea will battle Mexico and South Africa in Group A, and judging by the showing South Africa produced in the opener in Mexico, Son could easily get three goals alone against that dysfunctional defense.
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