Football
John Duerden, Asia correspondent 7y

Son Heung-Min chosen for Koreans after Spurs' Premier League cameo

It has been a good start to the week for Son Heung-Min, with the Tottenham Hotspur forward earning South Korea selection for two crucial AFC World Cup qualifiers after making a successful comeback from injury in the Premier League.

Son appeared as a 58th-minute substitute for Moussa Sissoko in Spurs' 2-0 win at Newcastle United on Sunday.

Hours later in Seoul, South Korea coach Shin Tae-Yong called up Son to spearhead his attack against Iran on Aug. 31 and Uzbekistan on Sep. 5.

The Koreans needs four points from the two games to be sure of appearing at a ninth successive World Cup.

Son scored 21 goals for Spurs last season and has managed 17 for his country. After he fractured his arm in June on national team duty, it was feared that he would be out of action until the end of August.

A faster than expected recovery, Son played the final 32 minutes on Sunday sporting a bandage on his arm, meaning that the 25-year-old will feature in both qualification matches in Group A.

Coach Shin also called captain Ki Sung-Yeung, still recovering from a knee injury. The midfielder missed Swansea City's opening weekend 0-0 draw at Southampton.

"Ki has been captain for all previous eight qualifiers," Shin said. "He gives support to the team's mentality. There is more possibility that he will play in the final game [against Uzbekistan]."

Shin, successor to Uli Stielike who was fired in June after a third defeat in four qualifiers, also gave surprising recalls to 38-year-old Lee Dong-Gook and Yeom Ki-hun, 34.

"Lee and Yeom may be older players, but they both have plenty to offer in these kinds of games.

"We know what we have to do in these two games and we will try our best to help fans recover from their disappointment."

South Korea's qualification campaign has been mixed, with three defeats in eight games, and just one point earned away from home.

While the 2002 semifinalists occupy the second of two automatic qualification spots in Group A, they are seven points behind the already-qualified Iran, and just one above Uzbekistan.

In the Asian zone, the two third-placed finishers from Groups A and B meet in a two-legged elimination game in October. The winners takes on the fourth-placed team from the CONCAFAF region, with a place in Russia 2018 at stake.

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