Son Heung-min expressed his apologies and described himself as “devastated” following South Korea’s unexpected 2-0 loss to underdog Jordan in the semi-finals of the Asian Cup.
The defeat shattered their hopes of winning the tournament for the first time since 1960. Despite being ranked 64 places higher in the world rankings, the Korean team failed to produce a single shot on target against Jordan.
The Tottenham player Son stated that his group was anxious and “did not want to make a mistake.”
“Very disappointing, devastated about this result,” the 31-year-old skipper told beIN Sports.
“Jordan are having an amazing journey at this tournament. They deserve it; they fought to the end.
“For us, it was a very disappointing night.”
South Korea was on the verge of being eliminated in the previous knockout rounds, but they managed to survive by scoring equalizers in the second-half injury time.
However, this time they were unable to respond when Yazan Al-Naimat and Mousa Al-Tamari scored for Jordan in the second half.
Jurgen Klinsmann‘s team struggled to show any scoring potential. Jordan has reached the final for the first time and will compete against either Iran or Qatar for the title on Saturday.
Son said South Korea had to “learn from these mistakes.”
“We have to look forward; there is no time for regret,” he said.
“Now I have to go back to my club and be ready for the rest of the season.”
During the tournament, Son managed to score three goals. Two of these goals were scored from penalty kicks, while the other one was a free-kick during extra time, which led to their victory over Australia in the quarter-finals.
The forward apologized to Korean fans, saying he was “terribly sorry that we didn’t live up to their expectations.”
“I will try to get better as a player and also help our national team take the next step,” he told reporters.
