Asian Cup
Son Heung-min leads South Korea to the semifinals of the AFC Asian Cup 2023 after defeating Australia in extra time.
In the 2015 Asian Cup final, Australia had defeated South Korea by the identical score in overtime to win their first Asian Cup; however, this time, the east Asian team won after scoring another goal in overtime to force more time.
At the Al Janoub Stadium on Friday, South Korea defeated Australia 2-1 in overtime, with Son Heung-min scoring the game-winning, brilliant free kick. This victory sent South Korea to the Asian Cup semi-finals.
Following a 1-0 victory against Tajikistan earlier on Friday, South Korea advances to face Jordan in the first semifinal on Tuesday. In their group stage match against Jordan, South Korea had pulled off a late equalizer to draw 2-2.
We are overjoyed and delighted to have experienced again another drama. As we may have predicted, the battle with Australia was fierce. Judge Klinsmann, the South Korea coach, expressed his pride at his team's enthusiasm and accomplishments, saying, "But to go 120 minutes again."
Jordan is our opponent in the semi-final right now. Having two teams in the semifinals illustrates how difficult our group was.
Before the half, Australia had grabbed the lead thanks to a deft switch of flanks and deft passes in the area. Nathaniel Atkinson's cross found Craig Goodwin, who had time to position himself for a volley into the bottom corner.
South Korea had a reprieve when Mitchell Duke's shot from the rebound sailed over the bar, but goalkeeper Jo Hyeon-Woo made two stops to deny Martin Boyle, who had the opportunity to make it 2-0.
In the fourth minute of stoppage time, Lewis Miller fouled Son in the box, demonstrating the effectiveness of Klinsmann's tactical substitution in the second half. Son is a forward for Tottenham Hotspur.
After taking a moment to collect himself, Wolverhampton Wanderers forward Hwang Hee-chan took a stride forward and scored their fourth goal of the competition after the 90th minute, sending the ball into the top corner to force extra time.
Although I normally kick first, I said okay because I was tired and Hwang seemed willing to accept the punishment. Son stated, "He has a great opportunity to demonstrate why he is an important player.
Hwang, following another foul by Miller, won a free kick on the edge of the box to send South Korea into extra time for the second straight game after they defeated Saudi Arabia on penalties.
Son lunged forward, his shot sailing past the wall and beyond goalie Mathew Ryan to find the net. This set off loud celebrations, as Klinsmann lifted his arms in triumph.
Graham Arnold's team was reduced to 10 men for the second half of extra time, and their hopes of pulling off an equalizer were dashed when Aiden O'Neill was sent off following a VAR review for a foul on Hwang.
"The way we concluded the game was extremely painful and emotional for both the players and the staff. Before giving up the penalty, we performed really well for the first ninety minutes, according to Arnold.
"Players from South Korea are able to maintain a quick tempo while competing in elite leagues. They can run teams to the bone and ultimately punish us because they play for teams like Tottenham and Wolves.
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