It's no wonder South Korea's midfield dynamo Son Heung-min is being labelled the greatest footballer of any code to grace Canberra Stadium since the halcyon days of the Raiders in the mid-1990s.

Back then, it was the rampaging Mal Meninga dishing out the punishment with a variety of stiff arms, shoulder charges and bullocking runs.

Son is more graceful in his execution, but no less deadly.

The blistering speed which has torn apart rivals in the German top flight and caused some of the biggest clubs in Europe to open their chequebooks will be on display in Canberra twice in the space of three days.

First up, it's the job of Oman to find a way to control his influence in the opening game for both teams on Saturday.

That will be followed by a date with Kuwait on Wednesday night.

Setting out to apply plenty of defensive pressure and limit Heung-min's time on the ball is one thing. Executing that plan is another challenge entirely.

Just ask the variety of teams in the Bundesliga that have struggled to keep up and have been relegated to the role of supporting cast in numerous YouTube highlight reels.

The 22-year-old made his top-flight debut with Hamburger SV in 2010 before moving to German giants Bayer Leverkusen for a transfer fee of €10 million in 2013.

His star has continued to rise, so much so that Manchester United, Liverpool, Arsenal and Tottenham are among those considering shelling out the $38 million to get him across to England.

Former Socceroo Ned Zelic – who had stints in Germany with Borussia Dortmund and Eintracht Frankfurt – said Son would be a treat for Canberra fans.

"I don't know when would've been the last time to see players of this quality at Bruce Stadium knock the ball around," Zelic said.

"He's just been flying and doing really well in the Bundesliga and in the Champions League, he's been scoring too, he's such a danger.

"He makes really good runs in behind and drops and receives, so he's got that whole package to his attacking game.

"At his age, he's still in a development phase with tactical awareness and other things you bring into your game and the defensive side, which positions to occupy to be ready for that outlet that we need.

"Those things he's working on in Germany, but if he keeps on going like this there's no doubt he'll go to a massive club."

Son won't be on his own.

He'll be ably supported by Korean skipper Ki Sung-yueng, who scored the opening goal of the English Premier League season for Swansea against Manchester United, while fellow midfielder Lee Chung-yong is also on the radar of several clubs following impressive performances with Bolton.

Former Socceroos goalkeeper Mark Bosnich described Son as "top drawer" and believes he'll be one of the players of the tournament.

"He's got superb technical skills, can score goals and can create goals," Bosnich said.

"He's wonderful in one and two-touch situations and can turn quickly.

"He's not the biggest, but he's got a low centre of gravity and he's a real danger."