Son Heung-Min has thrown his weight behind Harry Kane’s Golden Boot bid.
Despite firing a blank in the six-goal romp against Iran, England’s skipper remains among the favourites to claim the crown for a second successive tournament.
Kane has some catching up to do after the first round of matches - six players have notched braces - including team-mate Bukayo Saka. But Son said he spoke to Kane about his injury and wished him well in his scoring quest.
He said: “Obviously, we’re good friends and I’ve spoken to him about what’s been going on - but I’ll keep that conversation to myself.
“Of course, I’m hoping he’s okay. He should be at this tournament. He can show everyone he’s one of the best strikers in the world. I wish him all the best and I hope he wins the Golden Boot.”
Son spoke after South Korea came away with a point following a gritty goalless draw against Uruguay. After fracturing his eye socket during a Champions League clash against Marseille, the Spurs’ star had been training in a mask to prepare for the game and came through unscathed.
He said: “I’m not the only one at this tournament wearing a mask. I’m comfortable and pleased I could play with it. It was a tough game, the Uruguay guys probably thought they should have won it, but we fought, you could see we were fighting and we probably could have got three points but they are amazing players. But this is a good point.
“Both sides are probably happy with the result. We could say it was a boring 0-0. But it wasn’t boring. It was really intense. Both sides had their chances - as I say, I think it was a fair point.”
Portugal are in Group H alongside the Taegeuk Warriors. Asked about facing Ronaldo, Son added: “He’s still my idol. My role model. That will never change. "But the most important game for us is Ghana which is the next one. For me, personally and us, we need to look to that first.”
Former Manchester United star Edinson Cavani said he knew South Korea would be a tough assignment for the Uruguayans. He said: “The first match is always the most difficult on the journey of a tournament.
"Everyone fixes their sights on it. They think about the importance of the first match. But there are two more. It was physical and we knew that if we hadn’t found the key in the first few minutes it becomes much more difficult.”
