Son Heung-min was celebrated on Tuesday for becoming the most-capped male player in South Korean football history.
Son earned his 137th cap in a friendly match against Brazil in Seoul last Friday, breaking a tie with his current national team head coach Hong Myung-bo and former star striker Cha Bum-kun to reach the top of the all-time South Korean male appearances list.
Son padded his lead by drawing into the starting lineup against Paraguay for another friendly match at Seoul World Cup Stadium on Tuesday.
Before the kickoff, the Korea Football Association (KFA) held a ceremony to recognize Son's accomplishment.
Son's international career highlights were played on the stadium's two main scoreboards before the players for both teams entered the field. Then after the national anthems, Cha presented Son with a commemorative jersey with No. 137 on the back. KFA President Chung Mong-gyu then gifted Son a special muffler.
Son, now 33, played his first senior international match as an 18-year-old on Dec. 30, 2010, in a friendly against Syria. He has represented South Korea at the 2014, 2018 and 2022 FIFA World Cups, and the 2011, 2015, 2019 and 2023 Asian Football Confederation Asian Cups. (Yonhap)
