Son Heung-min apologized and claimed he was “devastated” after South Korea was eliminated from the Asian Cup with a dramatic 2-0 semi-final loss to Jordan on Tuesday.
The Koreans were hoping to win the event for the first time since 1960, but they were unable to register a single shot on goal against a Jordanian team ranked 64 places lower in the world.
Tottenham’s Son admitted that his squad was nervous and “did not want to make a mistake”.
“Very disappointing, devastated about this result,” the 31-year-old captain told beIN Sports.
“Jordan is having an incredible ride in this tournament. They deserved it; they fought till the finish.
“For us it was a very disappointing night.”
South Korea was on the verge of elimination in both previous knockout stages, but they survived by scoring equalisers in second-half injury time.
This time, they had no response as Yazan Al-Naimat and Mousa Al-Tamari put Jordan ahead in the second half, with Jurgen Klinsmann’s side hardly looked capable of scoring.
Jordan has reached the final for the first time, and will meet either Iran or Qatar for the trophy on Saturday.
Son stated that South Korea must “learn from these mistakes”.
“We have to look forward, there is no time for regret,” he went on to say.
“Now I have to go back to my club and be ready for the rest of the season.”
Son scored three goals during the tournament, two from the penalty spot and one from a free kick in extra time that secured a quarter-final victory over Australia.
The forward apologized to Korean supporters, adding he was “terribly sorry that we didn’t live up to their expectations”.
“I will try to get better as a player and also help our national team take the next step,” he said in a press conference.