06 February 2024 , 16:59
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Son Heung-min's hopes of Asia cup glory with South Korea are over after their semi-final defeat to Jordan.
The Tottenham star had been hoping to fire his nation to a trophy they haven't won since 1960. Son remains Asia's biggest star following his exploits in European football but was powerless to prevent South Korea's exit at the Ahmed bin Ali Stadium in Qatar.
Jordan will now await to see who they'll play in the final with Iran taking on the hosts on Wednesday. Unlike many of the other major tournaments around the world, the Asia Cup doesn't have any third-place play-off meaning Son's international duties will be over.
That will free him, and his compatriot Hwang Hee-chan, to return to Premier League action with Tottenham and Wolves respectively. Son has been absent from the north London outfit since their win over Bournemouth on New Year's Eve but could feasibly play in their game with Brighton on February 10. If not, they take on Wolves a week later.
Despite being without one of his star players Tottenham boss Ange Postecoglou has remained calm about the prospect of Son missing more games. South Korea beat Postecoglou's homeland, Australia, in the last eight, and he saw the benefits of seeing his player return a champion.
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He said last week: "Part of me would love Sonny to win an Asian Cup. I know what it'd mean to him and his country. They put great stock in that competition and Sonny, for everything he's done for the game and his nation, as disappointed as I would be if Australia go out, I'd love Sonny to go all the way and don't mind if he missed a couple more games for us."
The Tottenham star couldn't help end South Korea's Asia Cup droughtWolves meanwhile have coped impressively without Hwang, securing a memorable win at Chelsea on Sunday. Gary O'Neil maintained that the Molineux outfit wouldn't be dipping into the market to cover absences that were only set to last a matter of weeks.
Son and Hwang have been the top scorers for their respective clubs this term. Son has scored 12 times for Tottenham, who are aiming to return to the Champions League this term. Hwang meanwhile has also hit double figures in a Wolves side that have impressed this term with the South Korean scoring the winner in the memorable victory over Manchester City.