Tottenham captain Heung-min Son has confirmed he wanted to play for South Korea despite ongoing injury struggles.
The forward was rested for last week's 4-0 win over Tunisia but played the full 90 minutes of Tuesday's 6-0 win over Vietnam despite visibly limping at half-time.
Son went on to score in the second half and was shown grimacing in pain, crouched on his haunches with more than 10 minutes to play before seeing out the routine win.
The 31-year-old confirmed afterward that a groin injury meant he had struggled to train ahead of the game but was determined to play no matter what.
When asked about his injury after South Korea’s win, Son said: "Injuries are an inevitable part of living as a footballer.
"I was worried about whether to play in today’s game, but I couldn’t accept coming to Korea and not playing in front of the fans.
"I discussed with the coach and told him I would play in the game. I couldn’t participate much in training, but I’m grateful to the coach for respecting my decision."
Speaking about his decision to keep Son on the pitch, Klinsmann said: "The original plan was to play 90 minutes. The muscle injury did not recur, and there was no problem when checked at the 60th minute."
