Korea takes 2-0 halftime lead over Trinidad and Tobago in friendly

Son Heung-min of the Korea national football team celebrates after scoring during a friendly match against Trinidad and Tobago at South Field on the campus of Brigham Young University in Salt Lake City, Utah, on May 31. [NEWS1]

 

SALT LAKE CITY — Korea headed into halftime with a 2-0 lead over Trinidad and Tobago, as captain Son Heung-min of Los Angeles FC (LAFC) ended a lengthy goal drought by scoring two goals.

 

Hong Myung-bo’s side led 2-0 at the break in a friendly against Trinidad and Tobago at South Field on the campus of Brigham Young University in Salt Lake City, Utah, on Sunday morning.

 


 

Hong deployed a 3-4-2-1 formation with Son as the lone striker, a setup commonly referred to as “Son-top” because of Son’s role at the tip of the attack. Korea controlled possession through much of the first half but struggled to find a breakthrough.

 

Son changed the momentum. In the 40th minute, Kim Jin-gyu of Jeonbuk Hyundai Motors FC threaded a pass forward and Kim Moon-hwan of Daejeon Hana Citizen FC delivered a low cross. Son calmly guided the ball into the net with his right foot. The second goal came just three minutes later. After Bae Jun-ho of Stoke City FC won a penalty following a foul, Son stepped up and converted with a powerful right-footed strike.

 

The goals also ended Son’s scoring drought at the club level with LAFC. He found the net for the first time in nearly two months since scoring against Cruz Azul of Mexico in the first leg of the Concacaf Champions Cup quarterfinals on April 8, raising expectations ahead of the World Cup.

 

Son had gone scoreless in his previous 10 appearances for LAFC. He also recorded his 55th and 56th goals for Korea, moving within two goals of Cha Bum-kun’s all-time national team scoring record of 58.

 

Son Heung-min of the Korea national football team celebrates with Kim Moon-hwan after scoring during a friendly match against Trinidad and Tobago at South Field on the campus of Brigham Young University in Salt Lake City, Utah, on May 31. [NEWS1]

 

The match against Trinidad and Tobago was the first of two friendlies being played during Korea’s pre-World Cup training camp in Salt Lake City. Hong’s squad will play its first two group-stage matches at the 2026 World Cup in Guadalajara, Mexico, which sits at 1,571 meters (5,154 feet) above sea level

 

To prepare for the conditions there, the team established a training base in Salt Lake City, which is located at an elevation of 1,460 meters and offers similar temperatures, humidity and time-zone conditions. The squad has been holding its final preparations there since May 19 and plans to use the friendlies to assess its progress.

 

Son Heung-min of the Korea national football team takes a free kick during a friendly match against Trinidad and Tobago at South Field on the campus of Brigham Young University in Salt Lake City, Utah, on May 31. [NEWS1]

 

Trinidad and Tobago entered the match ranked 102nd in the FIFA rankings, 77 places below Korea, which is ranked 25th. The Caribbean nation also failed to qualify for the World Cup. Even so, it was selected as Korea’s sparring partner because the Korea Football Association prioritized gaining match experience at altitude over the strength of the opposition and sought teams willing to travel to Salt Lake City rather than relocating the camp.

 

Under an agreement between the two teams, each side is allowed up to 11 substitutions in the match. Cooling breaks, which will be used at the World Cup in North and Central America, are also being implemented, with one break scheduled midway through each half.

 

The 2026 FIFA World Cup in North and Central America will kick off on June 11 and will run through July
19. Korea’s first match will be against the Czech Republic on June 12. 

 

This article was originally written in Korean and translated by a bilingual reporter with the help of generative AI tools. It was then edited by a native English-speaking editor. All AI-assisted translations are reviewed and refined by our newsroom.

BY PIH JU-YOUNG [[email protected]]