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Son Heung-min bags goal, drags doubters in Concacaf Champions Cup win over Cruz Azul

Published: 08 Apr. 2026, 17:21 Updated: 08 Apr. 2026, 18:10

Son Heung-min of Los Angeles FC watches his shot in the second half of a match against Orlando City at BMO Stadium in Los Angeles on April 7. [REUTERS/YONHAP]

Son Heung-min finally shook off the ghost of a goalless past 11 matches in a 3-0 victory over Cruz Azul in a Concacaf Champions Cup match on Tuesday.

The Los Angeles FC forward got on the scoresheet for his first open-play goal of the year in the first leg of the quarterfinals at BMO Stadium in Los Angeles.

LAFC, which struggled early on, turned the momentum around with a single counterattack by Son in the 30th minute, when Mathieu Choinière latched onto a through ball on the right flank and drove toward the byline, delivering a low cross that Son slid onto on the edge of the goal box.

Wheeling away to celebrate, Korea's most-capped player celebrated not with his signature celebration but by opening and closing his right hand in the universal gesture of talking — orn, in antagonistic circumstances, trash-talking — in an apparent response to recent criticisms both before and after Korea's FIFA World Cup tune-ups in March that he's past his prime.

Son Heung-min of Los Angeles FC celebrates after scoring during the first leg of a Concacaf Champions Cup 2026 quarterfinal at BMO Stadium in California on April 7. [SCREEN CAPTURE]

Prior to Tuesday’s goal, Son had gone 11 consecutive matches without scoring for both club and country.

His last goal was a penalty in the first leg of his club's Champions Cup Round 1 match against Real España on Feb. 18.

The goal will surely come as relief to Korea's second-most prolific goalscorer, who was asked point-blank about his drop in form after the Taeguk Warriors came off a 4-0 drubbing against the Ivory Coast and then a 1-0 loss to Austria on April 1.

“Did you think that my competence had declined when I went 10 matches without scoring at Tottenham?” he countered, adding, “I wonder how you’ll feel if I start performing well at my club.”

Son Heung-Min of Los Angeles FC takes on Cruz Azul defenders in the second half of a Concacaf Champions Cup quarterfinal match at BMO Stadium in Los Angeles on April 7. [REUTERS/YONHAP]

Son responded on Sunday when he was back in action with his club against Orlando City in an MLS fixture, bagging four assists in the first half, with his total after Tuesday rising to two goals and 11 assists this season.

With LAFC head coach Marc Dos Santos deploying him as a lone striker rather than an attacking midfielder in both matches, Son’s attacking prowess has seemingly returned.

Playing alone up top, Son penetrated Cruz Azul’s three-back defense with his trademark sprints and runs into space.

In the 39th minute of Sunday’s game, a pass from Son deflected off a defender and fell to David Martínez, who scored the team’s second goal in the win over Cruz Azul, last year’s Concacaf Champions Cup winner and tournament title record with seven. The side started with two Mexican national team players: Carlos Rodriguez in midfield and Erik Lira as a center back in a 3-4-3 formation, giving Son a preview of Korea’s World Cup competition.

Son Heung-min, captain of the Korean national football team, practices before a match against the Ivory Coast at Stadium MK in Britain on March 28. [YONHAP]

Son will get a further World Cup preview as LAFC face Cruz Azul in the second leg of the quarterfinals in Mexico on April 15, giving him some exposure to the climate of all three of Korea’s Group A matches, starting with the Czech Republic on June 11, followed by a matchup against hosts Mexico on June 18 and a game against South Africa on June 24, all in Mexico.

Off the pitch, Son also secured a legal victory. On Wednesday, a woman identified only by her surname Yang was handed a four-year prison term by an appellate court on charges of extortion by claiming that she was pregnant with Son’s child. She was indicted with detention on charges of extorting 300 million won ($203,000) in 2024.

This article was originally written in Korean and translated by a bilingual reporter with the help of generative AI tools. It was then edited by a native English-speaking editor. All AI-assisted translations are reviewed and refined by our newsroom.
BY PARK LIN [[email protected]]