South Korea 2-0 Bolivia: Son stunner helps hosts ease to win

Son Heung-min scored a stunning free-kick to set South Korea on their way to a 2-0 friendly win over Bolivia on Friday.

Having initially struggled to break down their visitors at the Daejeon World Cup Stadium, South Korea eventually wrapped up the win with help from substitute Cho Gue-Sung on his return to the national team.

The hosts started strong, with Lee Jae-Sung seeing two headers kept out by Guillermo Viscarra, while Enzo Monteiro also went close for Bolivia, only narrowly missing the post just after the half-hour mark.

However, it was South Korea who found the breakthrough in the 57th minute with a free-kick just outside the box. Son stepped up, bending a wonderful strike over the top of the wall and into the top-left corner, giving Viscarra no chance.

Myung-Bo Hong's side continued to push and doubled their lead in the 88th minute through Cho, who had come on to replace Son just over 10 minutes earlier. He profited from some slack defending, brushing off his defender to poke the ball in from close range, with the sprawling Viscarra unable to keep it out despite getting a hand to it.

Elsewhere, Japan were also victorious in their friendly against Ghana, with goals from Takumi Minamino and Ritsu Doan securing a 2-0 win.

Data Debrief: Son leads by example

South Korea struggled to break down a resolute Bolivia in the first half, managing just five shots before the break (12 overall).

However, with Son's brilliant effort, they got their win. He scored with his only shot of the game, but had the most touches in the opposition box (five) and crosses (eight). He also created two chances, with only Kim Jin-Gyu setting up more (four).