GUADALAJARA, Mexico (AP) — South Korea captain Son Heung-min enters his fourth World Cup feeling like a “young boy again” and expecting some extra support from the Mexican fans.
Son, who will debut with South Korea at this year's tournament against the Czech Republic in a Group A match in Guadalajara on Thursday, has been playing in Los Angeles in Major League Soccer. In nearby Mexico, he has been called “Sonaldo,” a reference that some say is to Portugal great Cristiano Ronaldo and others to former Brazil striker Ronaldo.
“I’m in L.A. now and there are a lot of Mexicans there,” he said through a translator on Wednesday. “I can feel their passion and love for soccer, and they support me a lot. I’m very thankful and grateful.”
He said he is not comfortable enough to take on the “Sonaldo” nickname, though, at least “not yet.”
South Korea’s second match will also be in Guadalajara, when Son is not likely to count on the support of the local crowd as his team’s opponent will be co-host Mexico. South Korea’s third and final group game will be in Mexico again, this time in Monterrey, against South Africa.
The 33-year-old Son had a successful career with Tottenham in the Premier League before moving to Los Angeles. He has been playing with South Korea’s national team since 2010 and made his World Cup debut in 2014 in the tournament in Brazil. He also played in 2018 in Russia and 2022 in Qatar.
“Whether it’s the first or fourth World Cup, I feel like a young boy again,” Son said. “It’s my dream stage. I’m happy to be back on a World Cup pitch, it’s what I dreamed of from a very young age.”
He dismissed reports that this might be his final World Cup.
“I never said that this would be my last World Cup,” he said. “How I do and perform is the most important thing.”
Son recognizes he is one of the most experienced players in the South Korea squad and has used his standing to help the younger players.
“Sometimes I have to calm them, I have to say ’calm down,'” he said. “Hopefully we will have a good result. It would be deserved. We are well prepared.”
South Korea is making its 12th World Cup appearance — the most of any Asian country. Its best result was reaching the semifinals and getting a fourth-place finish at the tournament it co-hosted with Japan in 2002. Since then, the South Koreans have never gone beyond the round of 16.
AP World Cup coverage: https://apnews.com/hub/fifa-world-cup
South Korea forward Son Heung-Min (13) looks to shoot the ball during the second half of an international friendly soccer match against El Salvador, Wednesday, June 3, 2026, in Provo, Utah. (AP Photo/Tyler Tate)
South Korea forward Son Heung-Min, right, shoots the ball during the second half of an international friendly soccer match against El Salvador, Wednesday, June 3, 2026, in Provo, Utah. (AP Photo/Tyler Tate)
DUBAI, United Arab Emirates (AP) — The United States launched a second round of airstrikes on Iran into Thursday morning after President Donald Trump warned that Tehran would “pay the price” for stalled negotiations.
The new assault across multiple cities comes as efforts to negotiate an end the war again appeared stuck, with Iran insisting it would maintain its chokehold on the Strait of Hormuz, which has disrupted global energy supplies and sent oil prices higher.
Iran threatened to retaliate for the strikes, and missile sirens sounded Thursday morning in Bahrain, home to the headquarters of the U.S. Navy’s 5th Fleet while the Kuwaiti military reported that its air defenses were firing. After the first round of American strikes on Wednesday, Iran launched missiles at Bahrain, Kuwait and Jordan.
Israel early Thursday also warned residents in the north to seek shelter after the detection of suspected incoming fire from Lebanon.
The U.S. Central Command said it had “completed” its latest round of airstrikes just before sunrise in Iran. The military command said the strikes came “in response to Iran’s unwarranted and continued aggression” and targeted “Iranian military surveillance capabilities, communication systems and air defense sites.” It did not elaborate on the damage done by the strikes, which it said were carried out by the U.S. Air Force, Marines and Navy.
Explosions from the strikes echoed around Iran’s capital, Tehran, as well as in the port city of Bandar Abbas and other southern areas along the strait.
It was the third time this week that back-and-forth strikes have tested a two-month ceasefire. The strikes took place after a day of Iranian fire in Bahrain, Kuwait and Jordan, all of which host U.S. troops.
Trump has urged Iran to sign a deal to end the war and suggested earlier this week that an agreement could be reached in days.
Iran’s United Nations envoy said the U.S. should refrain from threats of force if it wants a deal.
“Iran has never negotiated under threats and pressure and will never submit to pressure or question,” Ambassador Amir Saeid Iravani told the U.N. Security Council on Wednesday.
Still, both countries seem to be looking for a way to end the conflict — if they can manage to sell it as a win at home.
Iran has proved resilient despite weeks of heavy bombing. It is betting that its ability to effectively close the Strait of Hormuz — a crucial passageway for oil and natural gas — gives it a strong bargaining chip.
Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu appears intent on pursuing goals that make compromise harder: the collapse of Iran’s theocratic government, the elimination of its nuclear program, and the destruction of the Iranian-allied Hezbollah militant group in Lebanon. On Monday, Iran and Israel targeted each other.
Since the U.S. and Israel started the war with Feb. 28 attacks on Iran, the conflict has shaken the global economy, driven up energy prices worldwide, and made food and other basics more expensive.
The international benchmark for crude oil traded above $93 a barrel on Wednesday, up more than 25% since the start of the war.
Trump said the U.S. military has since last month undertaken a “secret mission” to sneak oil shipments past Iran’s forces in the Strait of Hormuz. He said ships were slipping through at night, aided by the destruction of Iranian radar equipment.
Trump said as a result more than 100 million barrels of oil have evaded Iran’s chokehold on the strait. There was no immediate confirmation of that figure, which roughly equals five days of oil shipments through the waterway before the war began.
The military’s role was not immediately clear. Capt. Tim Hawkins, a Central Command spokesman, said U.S. forces “communicate and coordinate” with commercial ships in the area, but gave no details on military support being offered.
The U.S. Central Command on Wednesday refuted Iran’s claims that the Strait of Hormuz is closed, saying commercial ships are continuing to transit in and out.
Earlier Wednesday, the U.S. military said an American aircraft fired “precision munitions” into the engine room of the Palau-flagged vessel M/T Settebello as it attempted to breach the naval blockade with a shipment of Iranian oil. It was the eighth merchant vessel disabled by U.S. forces in waters off Iran.
India’s foreign ministry said three Indian sailors were missing after the Settebello was struck, while 21 others were rescued. Its statement did not mention the U.S. military or the blockade.
Hawkins of the U.S. Central Command said American forces warned the crew before firing on the ship.
The U.S. military said strikes earlier Wednesday targeted “air defense, ground control stations, and surveillance radar sites."
Iran said U.S. strikes hit two water reservoirs in the southern city of Sirik, temporarily cutting off water to thousands of people. U.S. Central Command had no immediate comment. Tehran later claimed attacks in Kuwait, Bahrain and Jordan.
Iranian Foreign Minister Abbas Araghchi condemned the American attacks as a violation of Iranian sovereignty.
Still, efforts to mediate a deal continued. Following consultations with the U.S., a delegation from Qatar arrived in Tehran for talks earlier Wednesday, according to an official with knowledge of the visit who requested anonymity due to the sensitivity of the talks.
The exchanges of fire came a day after a U.S. Army attack helicopter crashed near the Strait of Hormuz. The helicopter collided with an Iranian drone, according to a U.S. official speaking on condition of anonymity to discuss an ongoing investigation. It wasn’t clear whether the collision was intentional.
A drone boat rescued the helicopter’s two crew. Trump said they were uninjured.
Wary of high gas prices in the run-up to congressional elections in November, Trump seems to be looking for a quick win. But he is also making demands that will be tough for Iran to swallow.
The U.S. wants to see Iran give up its stockpile of highly enriched uranium. While Iran insists its nuclear program is peaceful, that uranium is a short technical step from weapons-grade levels.
Iran is refusing to give up the uranium and demanding relief from sanctions. It also wants the release of frozen assets even before a final agreement is in place, something Trump rejected.
Iran has insisted that any deal to end the war must also end fighting between its ally Hezbollah and Israel. Israel has instead intensified its military campaign against the Lebanon-based militant group.
Price reported from Washington. Associated Press writers Konstantin Toropin and Will Weissert in Washington; Edith M. Lederer at the United Nations; Natalie Melzer in Nahariya, Israel; David Rising in Bangkok; Bassem Mroue in Beirut; Michelle L. Price in New York; Russ Bynum in Savannah, Georgia; and Hannah Schoenbaum in Salt Lake City contributed to this report.
A man runs past burning cars following an Israeli airstrike in the southern port city of Sidon, Lebanon, Wednesday, June 10, 2026. (AP Photo/Mohammed Zaatari)
People take shelter as air raid sirens warn of incoming Iranian missiles in Ramat Gan, Israel, Monday, June 8, 2026. (AP Photo/Oded Balilty)
A projectile streaks through the sky over central Israel during an Iranian missile attack, Sunday, June 7, 2026. (AP Photo/Ohad Zwigenberg)
A cleric checks his cell phone on stage in front of a screen displaying portraits of the late Iranian revolutionary founder Ayatollah Khomeini, left, late Supreme Leader Ayatollah Ali Khamenei, center, and Supreme Leader Ayatollah Mojtaba Khamenei, during a pro-government gathering in Tehran, Iran, Sunday, June 7, 2026. (AP Photo/Vahid Salemi)
A woman walks past a mural depicting a U.S. aircraft carrier under missile attack in downtown Tehran, Iran, Monday, June 8, 2026. (AP Photo/Vahid Salemi)
