Asia

Tottenham fans can exhale. There will be no mandatory Son Heung-Min military service. All thanks to the Spurs midfielder beating up on a bunch of kids.

All South Korean men must complete 21 months of military service for the country, a response to the constant threat of the militaristic North Korea. There are only two ways to gain exemptions: win a medal at the Olympics or win gold at the Asian Games.

Son, 26, would be required to enter into military service by the time he turns 28, unless he could gain an exemption.

Usain Bolt made his debut with the Central Coast Mariners of Australia’s A-League on Friday. He played 19 minutes, didn’t score and certainly didn’t show enough ability to be considered a professional footballer. But the Usain Bolt soccer trial was a smashing success.

Jamaican sprint star Usain Bolt is set to play in a trial match for Australian A-League club Central Coast Mariners later today. The fastest man in the world has harboured aspirations of becoming a professional soccer player, and the Mariners are looking to be the club that makes his dream a reality.

Usain Bolt is close to making his debut for Central Coast Mariners.

Alright, so the J League is not exactly the EPL or LaLiga, but make no mistake, Japan’s top league has some big names and brilliant football that you are going to want to keep your eye on every now and then.

Former Spain and Barcelona man Andrés Iniesta has taken his talents across the world to Japan, and though at 34 he is in the tail end of his career, the legend is certainly showing no indication he will be going quietly into that good night. Rather, it seems his mission is to bust open the J-League at the seams one golazo at a time. 

Beijing Guoan continues to set the pace in the Chinese Super League following Tuesday's 5-2 win over Dalian Yifang, and it’s pretty easy to understand why. The five-star performance was spearheaded by a brace from former Villarreal star Cedric Bakambu, a goal from Spanish international Jonathan Viera and another by the man capped 31 times by Brazil, Renato Augusto. 

The 30-year-old Augusto — who scored Brazil’s lone goal in the 2-1 defeat to Belgium during the quarterfinals of this summer’s World Cup — is a class apart when it comes to midfielders in the CSL. 

Keisuke Honda, one of the greatest Japanese players in the last decade, recently announced he was moving to Australia to play in the A-League with reigning champions Melbourne Victory.

But, despite signing for a new club, Honda was not done there. He has now just been announced as the General Manager of the Cambodian National Team. The 166th-ranked side now boasts a 2013 Asian Golden Ball winner sitting on its bench during matches.

At the age of 19, Alex Hunter’s career is already approaching that of the journeyman. Back in FIFA 17, you selected a Premier League club to start with, but you were then loaned to a Championship side before returning to the EPL.

In FIFA 18, you started with your parent club before being offloaded to the Los Angeles Galaxy because of Michael the conniving agent. After grinding in MLS, you then signed with either Atletico Madrid, PSG or Bayern Munich. 

The Chinese Super League was home to some despicable scenes yesterday as Shanghai Shenhua striker Demba Ba was reportedly subject to racist abuse from Changchun Yatai midfielder Zhang Li. The former Newcastle United and Chelsea striker could be seen confronting Li in the 77th minute while Yatai striker Odion Ighalo — who spent three seasons in England with Watford — restrained him.

FIFA 19 is just eight weeks from being released (Sept. 28), and the hype is starting to build. EA Sports managed to win the licence for the Champions League and Europa League over from the folks at Konami and PES, so already FIFA 19 has a point on the board over its rivals. 

But, if rumors are to be believed, that’s not all that will be different about FIFA 19 this year.