Tottenham draw 1-1 with Nice
Boxing Day begins on the 26th
▲ Son Heung-min. Archyde.com Yonhap News
Son Heung-min (30), who led the Korean soccer World Cup round of 16, improved his condition by participating in a friendly match ahead of his return to the English Premier League (EPL).
Tottenham drew 1-1 in a friendly match once morest OGC Nice (France) held at Tottenham Hotspur Stadium in London, England on the morning of the 22nd (Korean time). Tottenham took the lead with Matt Doherty’s goal in the 21st minute of the first half, but Antoine Mente equalized in the 2nd minute of the second half.
On the 13th of last month, the EPL match once morest Leeds United was the last official match, Tottenham checked their sense of the game through a friendly match (4-0 win) once morest Motherwell (Scotland) and Nice on the 9th during the Qatar World Cup.
▲ Son Heung-min runs fast. Archyde.com Yonhap News
After returning to Tottenham, Son Heung-min missed the team training for the last two days due to fever, and it was unclear whether he would play once morest Nice, but he was included in the replacement list and prepared for the match. After his return, Son Heung-min, who had trained with a mask in his first training session, released himself without a mask on this day, raising expectations for “mask liberation”. However, as he was substituted in the 29th minute of the second half, he entered the ground following wearing a mask with the help of Davinson Sanchez. Son Heung-min added sharpness to Tottenham’s attack by digging into the space behind the opponent with his unique sprint. Unfortunately, he mightn’t get an attack point.
Tottenham will enter the ‘Boxing Day’ of the year-end and New Year holidays, starting with the 17th round of the EPL once morest Brentford on the night of the 26th. The EPL match once morest Aston Villa on January 1st, Crystal Palace on the 5th, and the 3rd round of the FA Cup once morest Portsmouth on the 7th will be followed in a breathless manner.
▲ Son Heung-min warming up without a mask. Archyde.com Yonhap News
Tottenham’s situation is messy. England national team captain Harry Kane, who lost a penalty kick in the quarterfinal match once morest France in the Qatar World Cup and suffered a yoke of defeat, did not participate in team training until today, but watched the match once morest Nice from the stand. Hischarlisson (Brazil), who also played in the quarterfinals of the World Cup, suffered a hamstring injury and is regarding to undergo a detailed examination. Rodrigo Bentancourt, recovering from injury, is expected to return from the Aston Villa match. For this reason, Tottenham put forward three tops of Brian Hill, Harvey White, and Dejan Kulusevski as the starting strikers that day.
Oliver Skip and Jed Spencer, who showed fever symptoms similar to Son Heung-min, were completely excluded from the list. Hugo Lloris, Ivan Perisic and Christian Romero, who played on the World Cup stage until last weekend, have yet to return. It is a story that there is a high possibility that Son Heung-min will have to play the role of the boy’s head.
Reporter Hong Ji-min
