In a shootout with Rodrigo Bentancur for a place in the knockout stage of the World Cup, it was Son Heung-min who prevailed courtesy of his moment of magic in the dying minutes of Group H. South Korea's late 2-1 win over Portugal means that the attacker will remain in Qatar for a bit longer at the expense of his Tottenham teammate instead of making a quick return to Hotspur Way.
In a three-way fight to progress from their group, South Korea had it all to do against the leaders in their final game. Their uphill task was made even harder after five minutes with Ricardo Horta giving Cristiano Ronaldo and Co. an early lead with a well-taken finish from close range.
Son could be seen trying to gee up his teammates seconds after the opener as he demanded more, knowing full well that his country had time on their side to get back into the contest and cause another World Cup shock. Far from his best in the tournament so far, the Spurs ace did get on the ball in the final third for but the final action was missing to begin with.
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Unable to get his cross in when on the left of the box at one point, seconds later he was denied by a fine tackle from Diogo Dalot when trying to cut inside after he was set free. The Tottenham man was then at the heart of a disallowed goal on 17 minutes as his cross was eventually converted by Kim Jin-su at the back post when the ball bounced back to him.
When they did eventually restore parity 10 minutes later through Kim Young-gwon, Son was stood over the ball at the corner flag but instead left it to his teammate to swing in the delivery which resulted in the goal. Needing a second strike with Uruguay leading against Ghana, Son showed a lovely bit of skill on 40 minutes to get the better of Pepe but his tame effort proved no trouble for Diogo Costa as it was straight down his throat.
The 30-year-old was given another sight of goal 10 minutes after the break, this time seeing a shot deflected over after some brilliant defensive play from Antonio Silva after Cho Gue-sung had released him with a lovely pass. There was then one moment on the hour mark when Pepe was not pleased with Son after the South Korea star went to ground rather easily wanting a free-kick after a run towards the box.
It wasn't given by the referee and it resulted in the Porto defender looking back at his opponent and clearly saying a few choice words to him. Seeing a shot deflected into the hands of Costa and a powerful volley blocked by Joao Cancelo, it appeared that Son and his teammates would be crashing out of the competition as they failed to create anything of note in the final third.
At a time when South Korea needed their main man to step up, he did exactly that on the cusp of full-time with an incredible piece of play to produce another jaw-dropping moment at the World Cup. Bursting towards the box from his own half after a Portugal corner was cleared, the Chuncheon-born star somehow picked out Hwang Hee-chan to find the net with a glut of opponents around him.
Fashioning the tiniest bit of space to play an inch-perfect pass through to Hwang via the legs of Dalot, the Wolves striker finished expertly to spark wild scenes in the stadium and in his homeland. Dropping to his knees at full-time and immediately taking off his facemask, Son burst into tears as he celebrated the famous win and a place in the final 16, although he and his teammates did have to wait a good six minutes or so until the full-time whistle went in the Uruguay match so the celebrations could really begin.
A momentous day for Son and his country, it was despair for Bentancur and Uruguay as it appeared for the majority of their game that they would be the ones progressing until his Tottenham teammate stepped up and really made his mark in the competition. Bentancur, who was one of a number of Uruguay players remonstrating with the referee at full-time, was substituted in the first half due to an injury and joins Ben Davies and Pierre-Emile Hojbjerg in making an early return to N17 after their group exits.
It perhaps isn't a bad thing for Antonio Conte and Tottenham with their star midfielder exiting the World Cup because of his injury in the 2-0 win over Ghana. Set to have a mini break before returning to the Hotspur Way training pitch, Bentancur will have ample time to make a full recovery, rest and recharge as he is suspended for the Boxing Day clash away at Brentford.
In a week full of twists and turns at the World Cup, Son ensured there was another one but it came at the expense of his good friend.
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