Tottenham Hotspur’s South Korean captain Son Heung-min will be chasing his first trophy this week, with his club taking on Manchester United in the final of the UEFA Europa League in Spain.
The one-and-done final will kick off at 9 p.m. Wednesday at San Mames Stadium in Bilbao (4 a.m. Thursday in South Korea).
Spurs are trying to win their first trophy since winning the English Football League (EFL) Cup in the 2007-08 season. A victory over the fellow Premier League side will also put Spurs in the top continental competition, the UEFA Champions League, for the 2025-26 season.
Son himself has yet to win a trophy in his European club career, which began in 2010 with Hamburger SV in Germany. He has been with Tottenham since 2015.
The Europa League showdown will be Son’s third tournament final with Spurs. They were the runners-up at both the 2019 UEFA Champions League and the 2021 EFL Cup.
Tottenham will look to salvage an otherwise disappointing season. They are currently in 17th place in the 20-team Premier League and have already set franchise marks for the fewest points (38) and the most losses (21) in a season. They were also eliminated in the semifinals of the EFL Cup and in the fourth round of the FA Cup.
On a personal level, Son has also had a down season. He is stuck at seven goals in the Premier League with one match left and will fail to hit double figures in league goals for the first time since his first Spurs season in 2015-16, unless he scores a hat trick in the season finale. He does have 11 goals in 44 matches across all competitions.
Son missed seven straight matches this spring with a foot injury before returning to action on May 11 against Crystal Palace. At the Europa League, he did not play in the second leg of the quarterfinals and missed both legs of the semifinals.
Son made his first start since his return against Aston Villa in league action Friday and logged 74 minutes. He said afterward he will be ready for the big Europa League match.
“I feel good, a little tired, but physically I feel good and ready to go,” he said. “It was good to get that game time in my legs. Crystal Palace as well, when I came on and played 25, 30 minutes last week. The most important thing is everybody got fit for Wednesday. I’ll be ready for Wednesday. Our objective is to get a result on Wednesday, so let’s get everyone together on Wednesday. From now on, everyone together, one goal, together it will happen.”
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