Son under pressure

South Korea's Son Heung-min is bearing the weight of expectation at the World Cup just as heavily as Mohamed Salah, Cristiano Ronaldo and Harry Kane.

For Son and South Korea, the pressure is shared in the kind of unequal measure that perhaps only Salah would know, before his own tournament was hampered by injury.

South Korea are teetering on the brink too, after a 1-0 defeat by Sweden left them needing at least a draw, and probably a win, against Mexico on Saturday to keep any hopes of progressing from Group F alive.

Responsibility is one take, pressure another. Son is a star in his home country, to the extent he has to wear a disguise when he leaves the house and Korean journalists are employed in London, where they wait to speak to the forward after every Tottenham fixture in the Premier League.

But for all the attention he receives, the 25-year-old is humble, driven and immensely popular with his team-mates.

For now South Korea need Son to deliver against Mexico, the team that have inflicted the shock of the World Cup so far by beating Germany. The pressure is on Son to step up.

"When he plays for the national team, the opposition focuses on defending against Son Heung-min," South Korea's coach Shin Tae-yong said last month. "I think he's doing well but to become a big player, he has to overcome that barrier."