“I KNOW HIS QUALITY”
And it is the mercurial Son who Zulqarnaen goes up against.
He starts the game as right-back, and will have to cope with the 31-year-old Korean’s pace and guile. On corners, Zulqarnaen is tasked with marking Wales full-back Ben Davies.
Son does not see much of the ball early on, and looks to drift wide before cutting in, so Zulqarnaen has to be extra sharp.
“I know his quality, I know his style,” said Zulqarnaen, speaking to CNA after the match. “It was a privilege to play against him.”
As a Spurs penalty appeal is waved away and a player receives treatment, the Singaporean has a chat with Son.
“He was telling me that it was a penalty, (but) I said no!” Zulqarnaen recalled later. “I told him that when I watched him on TV, he looked so small. But in real life, he’s really big. He said: ‘Oh really?'”