"Captain" Son Heung-min (34, LAFC) took a World Cup dress rehearsal on the road in Mexico. With unchanged movement even at high altitude, he helped the team reach the semifinals.
LAFC drew 1-1 in the CONCACAF Champions Cup quarterfinal second leg against Cruz Azul at Estadio Cuauhtémoc in Puebla, Mexico, on the 15th (Korea time). After a 3-0 win in the first leg, LAFC secured a comfortable 4-1 aggregate victory to advance to the semifinals.
LAFC's next opponent is the winner between LA Galaxy and Toluca. If LA Galaxy advances, an "LA derby" will take place. It is LAFC's first time reaching the Champions Cup semifinals in three years.
Son Heung-min valued the team's victory over his own goal tally. He was at the center of the sequence that decided the outcome late in the match.
In stoppage time, the opponent's defender was sent off, giving LAFC an 11-on-10 numerical advantage. In the ensuing counterattack, Son Heung-min became the starting point of the attack. During LAFC's shooting sequence, the opponent defender committed a handball, and a penalty kick was awarded.
Son Heung-min did not take the penalty he won himself. He yielded the kick to the team's ace, Denis Bouanga. Bouanga calmly converted the penalty to make it 1-1. With that goal, LAFC maintained a 4-1 aggregate score and secured a place in the semifinals.
The match was also meaningful for Son Heung-min, captain of the Korea national team, because he got early experience of World Cup conditions on a trip to Mexico.
Puebla, Mexico, where the match was held, is at about 2,160 meters above sea level. The thin air quickly causes players to tire. But Son Heung-min showed active movement throughout the 90 minutes and maintained his speed. He showed no symptoms of altitude sickness that many players worry about.
Before the match, Son Heung-min said, "the air in Mexico is refreshing," indicating he had little difficulty with the high-altitude environment.
This is a positive sign for the national team led by coach Hong Myung-bo. Korea faces the Czech Republic, Mexico, and South Africa in Group A of the 2026 North and Central America World Cup. In particular, all three group-stage matches, including the match against host Mexico, will be played in Mexico.
The match was meaningful in that Son Heung-min personally confirmed his ability to adapt to high altitude ahead of the World Cup finals.
[OSEN]