Son and Neymar to showdown in June friendly match

Son Heung-min, the captain of the Korean national football team, is having a showdown with Neymar, the Ace of Team Brazil, one of the finest groups of footballers on earth.

The Brazilian Football Confederation announced a list of 27 players that will play for the A-matches in June. Currently topping the FIFA World Rankings, Brazil will play South Korea (ranked 29th) and Japan (23rd) on June 2 and June 6, respectively. Historically, South Korea is lagging far behind Brazil, with an official record of one win and five defeats. The only victory South Korea managed to take home was during the match in March 1999 where Kim Do-hoon found a decider to seal the deal for a 1-0 win.

Neymar, who has netted a total 71 of goals as national team member, has been included in the list. The Brazilian squad boasts some of the best players in European major clubs such as Dani Alves (Barcelona), Vinicius Junior, Casemiro, Rodrygo (Real Madrid), Thiago Silva (Chelsea), Fabinho, Alisson (Liverpool) and Gabriel Jesus (Manchester City).

Son and Neymar once met on the pitch before. During a friendly match in October 2013 (where South Korea lost 0-2), Son showed up as replacement in the 19th minute of the latter half and played alongside Neymar. Back then, Neymar was the hero of the opening goal. At another friendly match in November 2019, which took place in the United Arab Emirates (where South Korea lost 0-3), Son joined the starting squad, but this time, Neymar missed the match owing to injury.

Team Korea is preparing for the 2022 World Cup in Qatar under Group H, along with Portugal (8th), Uruguay (13th), Ghana (60th). The first two contenders could be a good test for South Korea as they share some similarities with Brazil in terms of agile personal skills. Considering Brazil is under Group G, it might face South Korea on the Round of 16 should the circumstances allow. The list of the Korean national team is scheduled to be announced on May 23.


Jae-Yeong Yoo elegant@donga.com