South Korea was on the verge of being eliminated from the AFC Asian Cup after going 1-0 down against Saudi Arabia, but managed to turn things around with a late equalizer from Cho Gue-sung followed by a decisive 4-2 penalty shootout win.
Chances were few and far between for much of the first half, though Saudi Arabia, coached by former Manchester City and Italy manager Roberto Mancini, came within inches of taking the lead three times in quick succession: Saleh Al-Shehri and Ali Lajami rattled the crossbar with back-to-back headers, before Salem Al-Dawsari’s effort crept just wide.
The Green Falcons did eventually put themselves ahead, however. Half-time substitute Abdullah Radif only needed two touches of the ball before scoring, running onto a through ball before slotting home only 32 seconds into the second half.
South Korea managed to grow into the game and began to rain chances down on the opposition goal late on. Saudi Arabia goalkeeper Ahmed Al-Kassar was called into action to deny Hwang In-beom and Seol Young-woo as the game ticked towards the final whistle.
It appeared as though it was not going to be the Taegeuk Warriors’ day, with Cho striking the bar in injury time and forward Hwang Hee-chan firing just wide.
However, Cho was to be South Korea’s savior, heading into an empty net in the ninth minute of time added on as Saudi Arabia’s resolute defense finally cracked.
Extra-time went by with neither side able to find the back of the net, so with the game locked at 1-1, it was up to penalties to find a way to separate the two teams.
South Korea keeper Jo Hyeon-woo played hero in the shootout, saving Saudi Arabia’s final two spot-kicks before Wolves’ Hwang fired his deciding penalty into top corner, punching South Korea’s ticket to the quarterfinals.
Manager Jürgen Klinsmann, formerly the head coach of the US men’s national team, was pleased with the determination that his side showed.
“I think we deserved it,” he said after the game. “We invested so much energy and creativity in the game, we deserved to go through.
“Today was pure drama! Drama for the fans, drama for the coaches and drama for the players.”
After playing 120 minutes of soccer, South Korea now has only two days of rest before taking on Australia – which thrashed Indonesia 4-0 in the round of 16 – on Friday, though Klinsmann asserted that his team is “ready to fight.”
South Korea, led by Tottenham Hotspur forward Son Heung-min, is looking to win the Asian Cup for the first time since 1960.