United States 0-2 South Korea: Son haunts former boss Pochettino

Son Heung-min scored and assisted as South Korea earned a 2-0 friendly victory over the United States at Sports Illustrated Stadium.

Playing in their first match since their Concacaf Gold Cup final defeat to Mexico, the USA struggled to match their opponents.

Sebastian Berhalter and Lee Dong-Gyeong both saw an early chance apiece saved, before Son found a breakthrough in the 18th minute.

The LAFC forward raced in behind to latch onto Lee Jae-Sung’s delivery, and fired his shot into the bottom-right corner from a tight angle on the left, with Matt Freese unable to defend his near post.

The USA failed to mount a fightback in the first half, and Lee Dong-Gyeong doubled South Korea’s lead in the 43rd minute, sending a lovely backheel flick over the line after Freese had been drawn to Son.

Mauricio Pochettino’s side upped the pressure in the second half, but did not force Jo Hyeon-Woo into action until the 73rd minute, when he tipped Chris Richards’ instinctive effort away.

Freese made a brilliant late save to keep out Oh Hyeon-Gyu’s header, but Jo ensured he would walk away with a clean sheet, making a stunning double-save to keep out Folarin Balogun, who then struck the bar with his third chance in quick succession.

Turning the page to Tuesday in Columbus.#USMNT x Haleon pic.twitter.com/JoUjbJx09Q

— U.S. Soccer Men’s National Team (@USMNT) September 6, 2025

Data Debrief: Son stars in stellar first-half performance

Pochettino is well-acquainted with Son from their time together at Tottenham, and the South Korea captain made it a hard day for the USA.

He became just the third player in the last decade to record a goal and an assist in the first half of a match against the Stars and Stripes, along with Lionel Messi and Johan Manzambi.

The USA certainly had their chances to come away with confidence; they generated 2.23 expected goals (xG) from their 17 attempts, while South Korea had 0.74 xG from five shots, scoring with half of their efforts on target.