- South Korea are through to Asian Cup quarter finals after penalty shootout victory over Saudi Arabia
- Jo Hyeon-woo was the hero, saving two penalties in front of over 40,000 at Education City Stadium
South Korea are through to Asian Cup quarter finals after penalty shootout victory over Saudi Arabia during the Saudi Arabia vs South Korea clash.
The thrilling round of 16 tie ended 1-1 after extra time to force a shootout, which South Korea won 4-2. Saudi Arabia had taken the lead immediately after the start of the second half through Abdulla Radif and were moments away from sending South Korea home before substitute Cho Gue-sung equalized for the Taegeuk Warriors in stoppage time.
Saudi Arabia vs South Korea. Photo/ Times Now.
After a goalless extra time at Education City Stadium, South Korea goalkeeper Jo Hyeon-woo was the hero, saving two penalties. Seeing his side losing the shootout, Saudi Arabia head coach Roberto Mancini walked down the tunnel. Wolves forward Hwang Hee-chan scored the decisive penalty that sent South Korea to the quarter finals.
Up next for South Korea is Australia, who thumped Indonesia 4-0 in their round of 16 fixture played on Sunday. The clash will be a rematch of the 2015 Asian Cup final, where hosts Australia won in extra time. The game will be played on Friday at Al Janoub Stadium in Al Wakrah, south of Doha.
Speaking after his side had won the Saudi Arabia Vs South Korea round of 16 clash, South Korea head coach Jurgen Klinsmann said they wanted to win before penalties. The Taegeuk Warriors had been criticized for coming through the group stage in second place behind Bahrain.
“That’s the reason why I badly wanted to win our group. Some people said I was happy not to top the group and avoid Japan. We didn’t win the group and we’ve paid the price. But this win has given this team more spirit. I enjoy coaching this group and they badly want to do well for their country. We wanted to win before penalties, we didn’t count on a shootout.” Jurgen Klinsmann said, as per The Guardian.
Saudi Arabia Vs South Korea
Despite the first half of the Saudi Arabia vs South Korea ending goalless, there was plenty of action from it. Saudi Arabia came close to scoring from corner kicks three times. Two headers hit the crossbar before South Korea’s goalkeeper Jo was forced to make a brilliant save to stop a third one from going in.
The Taegeuk Warriors also had opportunities in front of goal, but Son Heung-min wasn’t so clinical to score the opener at Education City Stadium. Substitute Abdulla Radif opened the scoring 33 seconds into the second half after being found by Salem Al-Dawsari.
Despite defending their lead for almost the whole of the second half, the Green Falcons suffered a blow in the 99th minute when substitute Cho Gue-sung scored the equalizer.
There was little to no action in extra time and the Saudi Arabia vs South Korea game had to be decided through penalty shootouts. South Korea converted all their penalties, but will have to thank goalkeeper Jo for saving two against Saudi Arabia.
South Korea players celebrating. Photo/ CBS Sports.
Jo stepped up earlier in the tournament after number one goalkeeper Kim Seung-gyu was injured in training. So far it’s good with him as he has proven he can be relied upon.
“I had confidence that I could make some saves for my team. I’m happy I could take my team through to the next round.” Jo said after being South Korea’s hero last night, as per The Guardian.
Earlier on Tuesday, Uzbekistan had sealed their spot in the quarter finals of the Asian Cup after beating Thailand 2-1. Uzbekistan took the lead in the first half before Thailand found their way back into the game in the 58th minute through Supachok Sarachat. Abbosbek Fayzullaev scored the match winning goal for Uzbekistan in the 65th minute.
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