Tottenham Hotspur, the team of Son Heung-min (33), highlighted Korea's 4-0 victory.

Under the leadership of coach Hong Myung-bo, the Korea national football team faced Kuwait in the 10th match of Group B in the final Asian qualification round for the 2026 Federation Internationale de Football Association (FIFA) World Cup at the Seoul World Cup Stadium on the 10th, winning decisively 4-0.

With this victory, Korea secured 22 points (6 wins, 4 draws) and finished the final qualification round without a loss.

Korea had already confirmed its place among the top two in the group with a 2-0 victory in Iraq on the 6th, thanks to back-to-back goals from Kim Jin-kyu and Oh Hyun-kyu, finishing with 5 wins and 4 draws (19 points) and thereby qualifying for the World Cup finals for the 11th consecutive time. The match ended in a 4-0 victory, turning the game into a celebration for the national team that confirmed their spot alongside the home fans.

Korea recorded an unbeaten run in the final qualification round for the first time in 15 years since 2010. After suffering a disappointing loss to the United Arab Emirates on March 29, 2022, Korea failed to maintain an unbeaten streak in the Asian qualifiers for the 2022 Qatar World Cup, but this time they ended on a positive note without a loss.

Korea took the lead in the 30th minute with an own goal from Kuwait, and in the 6th and 9th minutes of the second half, Lee Kang-in and Oh Hyun-kyu scored consecutively, boosting their momentum. Following this, in the 27th minute of the second half, Lee Jae-sung, who came on as a substitute, scored the fourth goal, creating a perfect victory.

In this match, Son Heung-min was listed on the substitute bench but came on in the 30th minute of the second half instead of Oh Hyun-kyu, playing in front of over 41,000 home fans.

Having played his 134th A-match, Son Heung-min ranked third for the most appearances in the Korea national team A-matches. After handing the captain's armband to Hwang In-beom, Son, who had played 133 A-matches before this game, was tied with Lee Woon-jae (133 matches). With his successful participation in this match, Son closed the gap to two matches behind the joint leaders, former national team coach Cha Bum-kun and coach Hong Myung-bo (both with 136 matches).

After the match, the Korea national team re-entered the stadium to engage with the fans. Captain Son Heung-min began with the greeting, "Hello, this is football player Son Heung-min."

He said, "I want to sincerely thank you. I feel that we, along with the players here and those who have run with us from the second round of qualifiers, have achieved the dream of the World Cup." He added, "I will work hard not to disappoint you, so please continue to support us from behind."

Tottenham Hotspur, Son Heung-min's team, also focused on his appearance and the victory against Kuwait. The club reported on its official website on the 11th that "Son Heung-min returned from injury to appear, and Korea wrapped up its unbeaten streak in the qualifiers for the 2026 FIFA World Cup with a 4-0 victory over Kuwait."

It continued, "Son Heung-min's last starting appearance was in May against Aston Villa, after which he appeared as a substitute in the UEFA Europa League final held in Bilbao. He then took a break again in the final match of the season against Brighton & Hove Albion for injury management. He was also included on the substitute bench for the match against Iraq but watched the team's 2-0 victory and qualification for the finals from the stands without playing."

The club highlighted that "Son Heung-min, who is also the captain of both the club and the national team, was substituted in the 15th minute of the second half in the match against Kuwait held at the Seoul World Cup Stadium. At that time, Korea was already leading 4-0, and the match concluded as such."

It noted, "With this victory, Korea qualified for the World Cup finals once again. Since the 1986 tournament, Korea has advanced to every finals and achieved a semifinal miracle in the 2002 Korea-Japan World Cup. This will be their 11th consecutive qualification for the finals, a remarkable record held by only five countries worldwide."

[OSEN]