Son Heung-min of Korea celebrates after scoring against Oman during the teams' Group B match in the third round of the Asian World Cup qualification at Sultan Qaboos Sports Complex in Muscat, Sept. 10. Yonhap

Captain Son Heung-min scored the go-ahead goal late in the second half, as Korea beat Oman 3-1 for their first win in the current World Cup qualification round in Muscat on Tuesday.

Son broke the 1-1 deadlock with a thunderous strike from outside the box in the 82nd minute at Sultan Qaboos Sports Complex in the teams' second Group B match of the third round in the Asian qualification for the 2026 FIFA World Cup. The Tottenham Hotspur captain assisted on Korea's two other goals.

Korea, world No. 23, began the third round with a goalless draw against 96th-ranked Palestine in Seoul last Thursday.

Against No. 76 Oman, Korea opened the scoring in the 10th minute with Hwang Hee-chan's goal, before defender Jung Seung-hyun was charged with an own goal during the first-half stoppage time.

Son then put Korea in front again with his 49th international goal and set up Joo Min-kyu's stoppage-time goal that rounded out the scoring.

"I think it was a tough game. But we knew that in the second half, we were going to have more chances," Son said in a televised interview afterward. "In the first game, we created so many chances but we weren't clinical enough. Today, we were clinical and the lads played a great game. I am very pleased about the result."

This was the first win for head coach Hong Myung-bo in his second stint on the Korean bench. He previously coached the Taegeuk Warriors from 2013 to 2014, and was brought back in July this year under controversial circumstances.

Hwang Hee-chan of Korea celebrates after scoring against Oman during the teams' Group B match in the third round of the Asian World Cup qualification at Sultan Qaboos Sports Complex in Muscat, Sept. 10. Yonhap

The Korea Football Association (KFA) has been under fire for its opaque hiring process, while Hong has been panned for reneging on an earlier pledge not to leave his K League 1 club, Ulsan HD FC, for the national team post.

Hong was lustily booed by nearly 60,000 fans at Seoul World Cup Stadium before, during and after the Palestine match.

Korea have played at every World Cup since 1986. Their next set of qualifying matches will be against Jordan in Amman on Oct. 10 and against Iraq in Seoul on Oct. 15.

There are three groups of six teams in the third round, and the top two teams from each group will qualify for the 2026 World Cup. Teams ranked third and fourth in each group will move on to the fourth round for another shot at qualifying for the big tournament.

Coach Hong made five lineup changes from the Palestine match. On defense, fullback Lee Myung-jae and center back Jung Seung-hyun drew in, while Park Yong-woo was the new partner for Hwang In-beom in midfield.

Winger Hwang Hee-chan and forward Oh Se-hun, both of whom were second-half substitutes in the last match, started Monday against Oman.

And Hwang Hee-chan, attacker for Wolverhampton Wanderers, made his presence felt early with his opening goal in the 10th minute.

After a throw-in, Son, the Tottenham Hotspur stalwart, fed the ball to his fellow Premier Leaguer, who had some open space in front of him just outside the box. Hwang quickly fired a right-footed rocket before defenders could close in on him, and the shot beat Al-Mukhaini on the bottom left corner.

Oman players (in red) celebrate after scoring against South Korea during the teams' Group B match in the third round of the Asian World Cup qualification at Sultan Qaboos Sports Complex in Muscat, Sept. 10. Yonhap

Korea remained in control of the match but failed to add to their lead. Jung Seung-hyun took a hard shot right at Al-Mukhaini in the 25th minute from the right side of the box, after Oman failed to clear a corner out of their zone.

Oman started pushing back after the half-hour mark, with Jameel Al-Yahmadi testing Korean goalkeeper Jo Hyeon-woo in the 37th minute with a shot from the right side of the area.

Oman kept finding holes through the Korean defense the rest of the first half, and their effort paid off with a stoppage-time equalizer.

Harib Al-Saadi sent a free kick from the left side into a sea of bodies in the goalmouth, and Jung Seung-hyun was charged with an own goal after the ball grazed his head on its way into the net.

Korea thought they had earned a penalty six minutes after the restart, when Son was tripped up by Amjad Al-Harthi inside the box. But the initial penalty call by referee Ma Ning was overturned after a lengthy video review

Near the hour mark, Lee Kang-in fired a left-footed curler from the right edge of the box that sailed just wide left of the net. About a minute later, Lee again found himself with the ball on the right side of the area, but sent another left-footed attempt off target.

Then in the 82nd, Son gave Korea a lead they wouldn't relinquish.

With some great individual effort, Lee Kang-in passed to Son just outside the box. Son nearly fell but quickly regained his balance, and even with five defenders on him, Son found the lane for his left-footed shot that found the bottom left corner.

Korea kept pushing for an insurance goal and got it 11 minutes into 16 minutes of additional time, when Son teed one up for Joo who fired a right-footed shot that made it 3-1. (Yonhap)