Son Heung-Min had a goal and an assist and Jo Hyeon-Woo made five saves to lead South Korea to a 2-0 victory over the United States Men’s National Team in an international friendly match on Saturday in Harrison, N.J.
Lee Dong-Gyeong also scored for South Korea, ranked 23rd in the world in the FIFA rankings.
Matt Freese finished with two saves for the United States.
The United States had a chance to take an early lead in the contest in the 14th minute when midfielder Sebastian Berhalter intercepted a poor clearing pass by defender Kim Min-Jae outside the middle of the penalty box and drilled a right-footed shot that Jo had to make a diving save on by the left corner of the net.
The 33-year-old Son, who scored 75 goals and had 37 assists while playing for U.S. coach Mauricio Pochettino at Tottenham Hotspur of the English Premier League from 2015-19, gave South Korea a 1-0 lead in the 18th minute when he took a through pass from Lee Jae-Sung and blasted a left-footed shot from left edge of the six-yard box past Freese and into the far right corner of the net. It was Son’s 52nd career international goal.
Lee made it 2-0 in the 43rd minute when he tapped in a crossing pass by Son from the middle of the six-yard box into an open net. Son, who was substituted for in the 63rd minute, made the pass despite being knocked to the ground in a collision with Freese.
The United States, which finished with an 17-5 edge in shot attempts, turned up the pressure offensively in the second half but couldn’t get a shot past Jo, who stopped a Chris Richards shot in the middle of the box off a Berhalter cross in the 74th minute and then made a highlight-reel double-save in the 92nd minute on two close-in tries by Folarin Bakogun from the left side of the six-yard box.
The United States, which has nine more matches remaining before beginning play in the 2026 World Cup, next faces Japan, ranked 17th in the FIFA rankings, on Tuesday night in Columbus, Ohio.
–Field Level Media
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