Kane has become to Spurs what Karim Benzema is to Real Madrid - a nine-and-a-half playing both the number 9 and number 10 roles - and the main benefactor is Son Hueng-Min. They've spent seven years together. They know each other," explained Sissoko. "They've been training together, and trying to understand each other, for a long time so it becomes easier in the game. Sonny knows what H is thinking, and it's the same for H. That's why it works. I'm very happy for them." This attitude, combined with extraordinary work ethic and ability, has taken him to the very top. Some players can lose sight of other people and aspects of life in a single-minded pursuit of success, but Son remains hugely popular at Spurs for his joyful and considerate character. More than his world-class talents, it's what team-mates respect most.

It happened. Son played, he scored in an 8-0 rout of Fiji, and again against Germany in a 3-3 draw as South Korea topped Group C, also defeating Mexico by a single goal. In the midst of a global pandemic and Premier League football going ahead where it can, Son is focussed on the job at hand right now.Self-critical and dedicated to improving his craft, becoming the first Asian player to reach the 100-goal milestone in the English top flight is a huge achievement and a piece of history. Perhaps there should be a conversation in South Korea. These past few weeks have highlighted how one player dominates the national team landscape to an extent that may not be healthy for a country that has long wrestled with the challenge of how to bridge the gap between being an Asian powerhouse and becoming an established global player. For the first time in years, since perhaps 2015 when he signed for Spurs from Bayer Leverkusen, Son was not looking like Son and nobody knew what to make of it. The sight of the forward on the bench as the game started on Saturday made headlines in north London and South Korea. Son is a global football superstar but in Korea he has megastar status, anything he appears on sells out, and every goal he scores is celebrated with hysteria. Son led South Korea to victory at the 2018 Asian Games football tournament, the entire team securing an exemption from military service. In their sixth season together the relationship has become almost telepathic, and Son has benefitted from Kane's new role in the team.

At the start of this season, he wasn't at his best, and you could see on his face that he wasn't happy, but he's someone who never gives up," he said. It's a big honour to play with him and I really enjoy playing with him and it's been six years now playing together with him and we are understanding very very well, we know what we do. The Kane-Son Son-Kane combination has been unstoppable this season, when Kane assisted Son to score that 100th goal against Leeds it was the 13th time the two combined this season.

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We were playing Norwich away and we were dominating the game," recalled Winks. "We were creating lots of chances, and players were scoring here and there, but everybody just wanted Sonny to score. You could see by the celebrations that everybody was so happy for him. He fully deserved it because he was outstanding." That could perhaps explain why there have been times in the past when Son has shone brightly for Spurs but looked less happy when wearing the red, or whatever shade of the colour Nike insists on manufacturing, of the 2002 World Cup semi-finalists. The burden of expectations of an entire nation can be heavy and the 30 year-old often tries to do too much himself.