Uneasy Over Goal No. 58: Son Heung-min Says It 'Feels Off' as Goal Attribution Questioned in 1-4 Loss to Uruguay

South Korea lost 1-4 to Uruguay on September 28. The consolation goal in the 35th minute of the second half was reported as Son Heung-min's 58th international goal, but Son himself said he did not feel he had touched the ball.

Translated from Korean with AI assistance. Read the original. Sources and original publication dates are retained.

Three-Line Summary

South Korea lost 1-4 to Uruguay in a friendly at Seoul World Cup Stadium on September 28.
The consolation goal in the 35th minute of the second half was reported as Son Heung-min's 58th goal, but its final official attribution has not been confirmed.
Son Heung-min's average annual guaranteed compensation in MLS is $11,152,852, second in the league (as of 2026.04.16).

"If it's recorded as my goal, I think it will feel off." That is what Son Heung-min said right after the September 28 match against Uruguay, in an interview with News1. The national team lost 1-4. Korea's only goal was reported right after the match as his 58th international goal. It was a night when he himself doubted the number that would put him level with Cha Bum-kun.

Result of the Uruguay match, 1-4, and the scene of the consolation goal in the 35th minute of the second half

The momentum reversed in four days. Korea beat Ecuador 3-0 on September 24. It was the first match since interim manager Roberto Moreno (49) was appointed on September 1. The match against Uruguay, played at Seoul World Cup Stadium at 8 p.m. on the 28th, ended in a 1-4 defeat. It is Moreno's first loss in charge of South Korea.

The score was posted as 1-4 in both Yonhap News reports and the Korea Football Association's official match result. Korea's goal came in the 35th minute of the second half. A cross from Lee Kang-in on the right flank headed into the box, and reports right after the match counted the goal as Son Heung-min's.

Controversy over Son Heung-min's 58th goal, and a comparison with Cha Bum-kun's 58 goals by counting standard

Accounts of the record diverged that same night. At 10 p.m. on the 28th, Yonhap News reported the consolation goal as Son Heung-min's 58th career goal, tying Cha Bum-kun for the all-time record. At 11 p.m., Sports Kyunghyang reported that Son had raised doubts, saying he "did not feel he touched the ball." The same outlet added that the Association, the FIFA match report, FotMob and SofaScore all recorded the goal as Son's.

Nor is there any basis to say the record has been corrected based solely on what the player said. Only once the final official attribution of the consolation goal is confirmed can "tied with Cha Bum-kun for first" be written as established fact. The score is confirmed at 1-4, and the 58th goal is a record that Son Heung-min himself has questioned.

The Korea Football Association's all-time records table lists Cha Bum-kun (73) with 136 matches and 58 goals. This includes 2 goals in 6 matches from the 1976 Montreal Olympics qualifiers, which FIFA does not recognize as international matches. The Association separately notes that the FIFA-approved record in 2000 was 55 goals.

All-time scoring ranking in South Korea men's international matches (Korea Football Association, as of 2026.07.01)

Rank	Player	Goals	Note
1	Cha Bum-kun	58	Includes Olympic qualifier goals
2	Son Heung-min	56	Figure before the September friendly
3	Hwang Sun-hong	50	Retired
4	Park I-cheon	36	Retired
5	Lee Dong-gook and Kim Jae-han	33	Tied for 5th

The table lists Son Heung-min with 56 goals. That is because the reference date is July 1. The gap of two goals from the 58 in the September 28 reports does not mean the latest official records conflict with each other; it reflects different reference dates. It has not been confirmed whether the Association has posted an updated ranking table since the September match.

Son Heung-min's salary of $10.37 million; second in MLS guaranteed compensation

Son Heung-min was born on July 8, 1992, and is 34 years old by international age this year. He made his debut at Hamburger SV (2010~2013), went on to Bayer Leverkusen (2013~2015) and Tottenham (2015~2025), and moved to LAFC in August 2025. At Tottenham he scored 173 goals in 454 official matches, ranking fifth in the club's all-time scoring list. His signature achievement is sharing the 2021-22 Premier League Golden Boot (23 goals).

Rank	Player	Average annual guaranteed compensation (USD, MLS Players Association, as of 2026.04.16)
1	Lionel Messi	28,333,333
2	Son Heung-min	11,152,852
3	Rodrigo De Paul	9,688,320

According to MLS Players Association salary data, Son Heung-min's annual base salary is $10,368,750. His average annual guaranteed compensation ranks second in the league. The gap with first-placed Messi is about $17.18 million (28,333,333 - 11,152,852). He earns about $1.46 million more than third-placed De Paul. This figure is guaranteed compensation excluding bonuses and endorsement income, not his actual total annual earnings.

Moreno's contract covers 6 international matches through November 27. With 2 matches already played, 4 remain, and it can be extended through the 2027 Asian Cup depending on the evaluation.

Related Official Sites

Korea Football Association — Check national team match results and schedules
Korea Football Association national team all-time records — All-time international scoring rankings and counting standards
MLS Players Association salary data — MLS player-by-player base salary and guaranteed compensation disclosures

Featured image · Archival photo · Not a photo from the match covered in this article · Photo: Wikimedia Commons (ypa.ir), CC BY 4.0