Tottenham Hotspur Heung-min Son picked up two assists in extra time as South Korea defeated Japan to win the Asian Games Final on Saturday.
The victory crucially allows the South Korean side to avoid two years of military service.
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Seung-Woo Lee scored the first goal, with Son’s assist more of a missed touch, but the second goal came when the Spurs’ man’s free kick was headed home by Hwang Hee-chan.
Japan came close to equalizing, pulling one back through Ayase Ueda with four minutes remaining and then nearly poking one home via a goal mouth scramble.
Son and the Taegeuk Warriors looked gassed as the game approached regulation’s final whistle, but motivation is a powerful thing.
South Korean law states that all “able-bodied men” need to serve in the military, but exceptions are made for gold medalists from the Asian Games, or any medalist at the Olympics.
