Yahoo News Son Heung-min's Bae Junho prediction written on debut match ball
Bae Junho started his first international camp with the senior South Korea team with a bit of imposter syndrome and feeling like he was meeting a celebrity when he trained with Son Heung-min.
He ended it with the match ball presented to him after scoring on his debut and a message written on it by captain Son that he is "the future of Korean soccer".
It has been a remarkable 12 months or so for Junho, aged 20, who came to attention at the under-20s World Cup, made a transfer to England and ended up as Stoke City's player of the season. He won a first senior call-up in May and scored in a thrashing of Singapore before making a cameo appearance in Seoul against China.
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The results booked South Korea a place at the 2027 World Cup and in the next stage of qualifying for the 2026 World Cup - and the new man on the scene has been a big hit with supporters and teammates.
He told the local press: "My confidence has definitely grown. Training with these players and playing at a high level gave me a sense of how competitive I was.
“In the changing room, my teammates signed the ball, and the last one (Son) Heung-min gave it to me. I was grateful that Heung-min wrote, ‘The future of Korean soccer.’”
Son has also made a public personal intervention over the last few days to urge fans to not heap too much pressure on Junho.
The noise from the 60,000-plus crowd still grew when the Stoke forward was summoned from the bench against China and he said: "I think the burden is something I have to bear. It is natural that the interest and expectations increase the higher you go. I am confident that I can prove it, so I hope you will watch over me until I reach a higher position."
He added: "It's unfortunate I didn't get more time on the pitch. I don't know if I'll get the chance, but if I'm called up next time, I'll prepare well and show you what I can do."
