Tokyo 2020 Olympics: Son Heung-min left out of South Korea’s 18-man squad
- Manager Kim Hak-bum does not include Tottenham Hotspur star forward in one of three overage players permitted
- Son ‘willing to play at the Olympics, but that willingness alone may not get the job done’, Kim said in May
South Korean Olympic team manager Kim Hak-bum named his squad for the Summer Games this afternoon, ending speculation on whether the full men’s national team captain would be in Tokyo.
Kim’s final 18-man squad is limited to three players over the age of 24, as per Olympic rules. Ordinarily the age limit is 23 but that has been extended a year because of the 12-month delay for the Tokyo Games.
The coach had confirmed in May that Son was one of 11 overage players included on South Korea’s 50-player longlist for the Summer Games, reiterating Son’s desire to play last month.
“[Son] is willing to play at the Olympics, but that willingness alone may not get the job done because European clubs tend to view their players as assets,” Kim said at a June media conference, as reported by Yonhap.
Spurs are not obliged to let him go under Fifa rules.
South Korea will play a warm-up against France on July 16 and another game against unnamed opponents on July 13 before starting their Tokyo tournament.
South Korea will play New Zealand on July 22, Romania on July 25 and Honduras on July 28 in group B of the men’s tournament. The top two teams from each of the four groups move on to the quarters in Tokyo.
Honduras knocked South Korea – and an over-age Son – out of the Rio 2016 Games knockouts.
Son chose to sit out the London 2012 Games as he wanted to concentrate on his club football with German side Hamburg when South Korea won bronze.
Managerless Spurs kick off their English Premier League season on August 15 when they host champions Manchester City.
‘Stay strong, I love you,’ Son tells Eriksen after South Korea goal
Last season was Son’s most prolific season in front of goal in the English Premier League since arriving from German Bundesliga side Bayer Leverkusen in 2015 despite Spurs sacking manager Jose Mourinho midway through the campaign.
