Son Heung-min scored directly from a corner to fire Tottenham into the English League Cup semifinals with a thrilling 4-3 win over Manchester United on Thursday.
Son's spectacular strike in the 88th-minute at the Tottenham Hotspur Stadium came as Spurs tried to hold off a dramatic comeback from United, having led 3-0 in the second half.
United had pulled it back to 3-2 and was pushing for an equalizer when Son whipped in a curling right-footed shot past goalkeeper Altay Bayindir.
Jonny Evans scored again for United in stoppage time, but Spurs held on for the win that had looked all but certain shortly after halftime.
Having gone ahead through Dominic Solanke’s goal from close range in the 15th, Tottenham took control after the break.
Dejan Kulusevski doubled the lead a minute after the restart and Solanke fired in his second in the 54th.
United head coach Ruben Amorim made a triple substitution — bringing on Joshua Zirkzee, Amad Diallo and Kobbie Mainoo.
It quickly had an impact with Zirkzee forcing Fraser Forster into a flying save and then capitalizing on a loose pass by the Tottenham goalkeeper to make it 3-1.
Forster was guilty of another mistake in the 70th when his attempted clearance was closed down by Diallo and ricocheted over the line.
United increased the pressure, but Son's unlikely goal gave Spurs a cushion again — and it proved to be the decisive strike after Evans' late header reduced the deficit again.
Son scores direct from a corner as Tottenham beats Man United 4-3 in the English League Cup
https://arab.news/r37mh
Son scores direct from a corner as Tottenham beats Man United 4-3 in the English League Cup
From Riyadh to Toronto: World Cup diplomacy in motion
- FIFA World Cup can help drive Saudi-Canadian relations, ambassador says
- Canada ready to ‘welcome the world,’ Jean-Philippe Linteau says
RIYADH: As Canada prepares to co-host the FIFA World Cup, its ambassador to Saudi Arabia says the tournament will be not only a celebration of football but also a platform to deepen ties between Ottawa and Riyadh.
“It’s such an honor for Canada to be the host this year of the FIFA World Cup with our friends from the United States and Mexico,” Jean-Philippe Linteau told Arab News.
“The World Cup is the most important sporting event in the world.”
Canada hosted the women’s World Cup in 2015 and now turns its attention to the men’s competition, highlighting what the envoy described as its growing footprint in global football.
“Canada is already one of the world’s most open countries. We welcome the world. Our population is multicultural. You come to Canada, you find a whole world among Canadians,” he said.
“Hosting this event is just a natural extension of our welcoming nature.”
Linteau said fans traveling to Canada would enjoy a safe and fun experience and that the tournament would continue to promote the country long after the final whistle.
“We hope that the world will come to Canada … and continue to come for years after that because it’s a great way to showcase our country and everything we have to offer.”
The ambassador praised the Kingdom’s growing role in international sport and its transformation under Vision 2030.
“Saudi Arabia is not just influential in global football. I would say in global sports in general, including esports. What the Kingdom has done has been noticed all over the world,” he said.
Linteau said he remembered when Erin Routliffe and Gaby Dabrowski won the women’s tennis doubles title at the WTA Finals in 2024.
“I was very proud to be here in Riyadh for that,” he said, describing the event as an example of Saudi Arabia’s ambition to become a global sports hub.
He also congratulated the Saudi football team on qualifying for the World Cup and expressed hope that the two nations might meet later in the tournament.
“While the Saudi team is not going to play in Canada for the first round, we hope that we’re going to meet in subsequent rounds for some matches,” he said.
“When it comes to sports, it’s a natural convening mechanism.”
Linteau highlighted Canada’s support for developing sports in the Kingdom, particularly in disciplines where it has recognized expertise.
“In Canada, we have two national sports — lacrosse and ice hockey. In both those cases, Canadians have been in the Kingdom to support the establishment of these teams,” he said.
“We were very proud to be part of that. You can’t start being good at a sport … you have to crawl and then you walk and then you run.”
Sport was a powerful diplomatic tool, he said.
“It helps to build people-to-people ties. It helps youth and others to connect with each other, to meet and to share experiences,” he said.
With Saudi Arabia hosting an increasing number of international tournaments, Linteau said he expected more Canadians to travel to the Kingdom and witness its transformation firsthand and that the hoped more Saudis would compete and succeed on the global stage, including in Canada.
Feb. 15 marks Canada’s National Flag Day, which the ambassador said was “a day of unity, a day where we celebrate our flag.”
“The World Cup will also be an opportunity where we come together to support our national team under the same flag.
“I look forward to Saudi and Canada meeting together, hopefully, in the FIFA World Cup.”
