Son Heung-min's Free Kick Is His 59th International Goal Against Uzbekistan… New Record for Most A-Match Goals by a Korean Man

Son Heung-min scored his 59th A-match goal from a free kick in the 6th minute against Uzbekistan, passing Cha Bum-kun (58 goals). Korea finished the first half 1-0, and reports said it was his 151st appearance.

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

The evening of October 6, 2026, at Yongin Mir Stadium. Korea was awarded a free kick after an Uzbekistan player committed a handball. The person who drew that foul was Son Heung-min. He stepped up to the ball himself, and his low right-footed strike went into the goal. With this one goal, the name at the top of the Korean men's national team scoring list changed.

Son Heung-min's Free Kick Opens the Scoring: 59th Goal in the 6th Minute, 1-0 in the First Half

Sports Kyunghyang reports that Son Heung-min in the 6th minute scored the opening goal with a right-footed free kick. The free kick came from an opposition handball that Son Heung-min drew. The ball went in low along the ground. The goal that changed the national team's record came just 6 minutes after kickoff.

This article does not confirm the final score. Inter Football reported from the stadium that Korea finished the first half 1-0 (as of the report at 20:46 on 2026.10.06). This article was written using material searched up to 21:48 KST. We could not obtain the second-half score or whether the match had ended at that point. The 1-0 first-half score should not be read as a final win.

Son Heung-min's 59 A-Match Goals Pass Cha Bum-kun's 58 for Sole First Place

The key question can be reduced to one sentence: did this goal change the Korean men's national team record for most goals? JoongAng Ilbo and Sports Kyunghyang reported this goal as his career A-match 59th goal (as of the Sports Kyunghyang report at 20:22 on 2026.10.06). The explanation is that he moved into sole first place, passing Cha Bum-kun's 58 goals. The scope is the men's national team. It should not be read as a record covering all of Korea, men and women combined.

The Korea Football Association's records page lists Cha Bum-kun with 58 goals, Son Heung-min with 56 and Hwang Sun-hong with 50, as of July 1, 2026. This table was not updated through this match. Connecting the two points in time, Son Heung-min added 3 goals after the July table to reach 59. The 59 goals and sole first place are figures reconciled from multiple on-site reports, and no official reflection by the association has been confirmed.

Player	KFA official record (as of 2026.07.01, goals)	Same-day reports (as of 20:22 on 2026.10.06, goals)
Son Heung-min	56	59
Cha Bum-kun	58	58
Hwang Sun-hong	50	Unconfirmed

Cha Bum-kun's 58 goals also come with a footnote. Next to this number, the association's table notes that "the record FIFA approved in 2000 is 55 goals." This means the scope of counting and the time of approval need to be checked separately. That said, there is no basis to assert that the current FIFA record is 55 goals. The record for Cha Bum-kun presented in these reports is 58 goals, and Son Heung-min has passed that number.

Report of Son Heung-min's 151st A-Match Appearance; LAFC Salary of $11.15 Million

The number of appearances is also worth checking. Unlike accounts that call this his 150th A-match, JoongAng Ilbo and Maeil Business both explicitly described it as his 151st (as of reports on 2026.10.06). Multiple outlets reported it as his 151st, and no official tally reflecting this date has been confirmed.

Rank	Player	Appearances (matches)
1	Son Heung-min	147
Joint 2	Cha Bum-kun	136
Joint 2	Hong Myung-bo	136

The 147 matches in the association's reference table (2026.07.01) have a different reference date from the 151 matches in the same-day reports, so they cannot be treated as conflicting records. Linking the two numbers yields one calculation. From 147 matches to the 151st, goals rose from 56 to 59 over 4 matches, so 3 goals in 4 matches. This calculation is conditional on the 151st-appearance reports being correct.

Son Heung-min reportedly moved to LAFC after leaving Tottenham with 454 official matches and 173 goals. According to LAFC's announcement, the contract runs through 2027, with an extension option for 2028 and an additional option through June 2029. By the MLS Players Association's figures, his average annual guaranteed compensation for the 2026 season was $11,152,852 (as of 2026.04.16). That is second in the league, behind Lionel Messi.

We could not obtain the second-half result as of the time of this article. One more goal has been added on top of the 58 that Cha Bum-kun left behind. 59.

Frequently Asked Questions

Q. How many A-match goals does Son Heung-min have?

He was reported to have 59 goals, including the opening goal against Uzbekistan on October 6, 2026 (as of the report at 20:22 on 2026.10.06). That puts him in sole first place for the Korean men's national team, past Cha Bum-kun's 58 goals. The Korea Football Association's official records table shows 56 goals as of July 1, and no data updated through this match has been confirmed.

Q. Is Son Heung-min's A-match appearance count 150 or 151?

JoongAng Ilbo and Maeil Business reported the Uzbekistan match as his 151st A-match. The Korea Football Association's official record as of July 1 is 147 matches, and no official tally from the association or FIFA reflecting this match has been confirmed.

Q. What is Son Heung-min's LAFC salary?

According to MLS Players Association data as of April 16, 2026, his base salary is $10,368,750 and his average annual guaranteed compensation is $11,152,852 (about 16.6 billion won). Guaranteed compensation includes the annualized portion of items such as signing bonuses, but excludes performance bonuses and personal endorsement income.

Related Official Sites

Korea Football Association Official National Team Records — Check A-match goal and appearance rankings along with their reference dates
LAFC Official Son Heung-min Player Profile — The LAFC club's official player page for Son Heung-min
MLS Players Association Official Salary Guide — Original data on MLS players' base salaries and guaranteed compensation
MLS Official Website — The official site of the MLS, the league where Son Heung-min plays

Lead image · Archive photo · Not an on-site photo of the match in this article · Photo: Wikimedia Commons (dom fellowes from UK), CC BY 2.0