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Sam Hill

Why Son Heung-min didn't celebrate with teammates after South Korea World Cup equaliser vs Ghana

Tottenham star Son Heung-min did not get involved in the celebrations as South Korea equalised against Ghana at the World Cup in Qatar. The 30-year-old continues to wear a protective face mask after fracturing his eye during Spurs' UEFA Champions League win against Marseille.

Son's form has not been great in the last month or two and hasn't scored for club or country since his double against Eintracht Frankfurt in the Champions League back in October. The Tottenham forward was a doubt heading into the World Cup after sustaining an eye injury just weeks before the tournament in Qatar got under way.

South Korea find themselves in one of the toughest groups at the World Cup alongside Ghana, Uruguay and Portugal. After drawing 0-0 in their opening fixture of Group H, Son and his teammates were in desperate need of a win against Ghana ahead of their final match of the group stages against Portugal on Friday, December 2.

READ MORE: Tottenham on red alert as opening Hakim Ziyech bid prepared amid £8m Chelsea transfer regret

South Korea started the game against Ghana brilliantly, having six corners inside the opening 17 minutes of the match as they piled on the pressure early on. The Black Stars found themselves a goal up in the 24th minute after Southampton defender Mohammed Salisu fired the ball home after a scramble in the South Korea penalty area however.

Ghana went into the half-time break 2-0 up as Mohammed Kudus added a second just 10 minutes after Salisu's opener, leaving South Korea with an uphill battle. Just 13 minutes into the second half, Cho Gue-sung grabbed his nation's first goal at the World Cup before adding a second just three minutes later to equalise with a brilliant header.

The goal sent the South Korean fans wild as the players celebrated by the corner flag, but Son was nowhere to be seen. The Tottenham star instead ran off on his own, taking off his protective mask and celebrating alone before joining his teammates moments later as to avoid damaging his injured eye any further.

Ghana since made it 3-2 as Kudus added his second of the game in the 68th minute and Son could not inspire his team to find an equaliser as they went down to defeat leaving their World Cup dreams hanging by a thread.

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