'Jo Gyu-seong and Jo Hyun-woo shine' Korea beats Saudi Arabia to reach Asian Cup quarterfinals (Summary)

Jo Gyu-seong's Dramatic Equalizer Just Before Second Half Ends
Jo Hyun-woo's Two Saves in Penalty Shootout
Clash with Australia in Quarterfinals on February 3

The South Korean national football team overcame great difficulties to defeat Saudi Arabia and continue their journey toward winning the Asian Cup for the first time in 64 years.

Led by coach J?rgen Klinsmann, the South Korean team defeated Saudi Arabia in a penalty shootout after a tense match in the round of 16 of the 2023 Asian Football Confederation (AFC) Asian Cup held on the 30th (Korean time) at the Education City Stadium in Al Rayyan, Qatar.

Trailing 0-1, South Korea scored a dramatic equalizer with a header by Cho Gue-sung in the 9th minute of stoppage time in the second half. During the 30 minutes of extra time, South Korea pressed Saudi Arabia and created several decisive chances but failed to convert them into goals. Ultimately, the match was decided by penalties. Goalkeeper Jo Hyeon-woo became the hero by consecutively saving the shots of the third and fourth Saudi kickers. South Korea won 4-2, with captain Son Heung-min, Kim Young-gwon, Cho Gue-sung, and Hwang Hee-chan all scoring goals.

[Photo by Yonhap News]

Coach Klinsmann deployed a three-back formation for the first time since his appointment. This was a major change to the defense, which had shown vulnerabilities by conceding six goals in three group stage matches.

Kim Young-gwon, Kim Min-jae, and Jung Seung-hyun formed the three-back line. The midfield was composed of Seol Young-woo, Kim Tae-hwan, Hwang In-beom, and Lee Jae-sung. Up front, Son Heung-min led the attack with Jung Woo-young and Lee Kang-in positioned on the left and right wings, respectively.

Both teams showed a sluggish flow in the first half. Due to the pressure of facing a tough opponent, the battle was more about gaining control in midfield rather than bold attacks.

In the 19th minute of the first half, South Korea had a good chance when Hwang In-beom’s pass connected to Son Heung-min. Son broke through the opposing defense and penetrated deep on the left, but his cross deflected off a defender and did not lead to a shot.

Afterwards, South Korea’s attack showed some liveliness. They repeatedly intercepted the ball in midfield and transitioned into offense. Son Heung-min attempted shots in the 25th and 30th minutes, but both lacked power and went straight to the Saudi goalkeeper.

Although South Korea controlled the flow in the middle of the half, they failed to create decisive chances and instead faced a crisis around the 40th minute when they conceded three consecutive corner kicks. During this sequence, Saudi headers hit the goalpost twice in a row, narrowly avoiding conceding a goal.

The first half ended as a dull battle. South Korea and Saudi Arabia had only 4 and 5 shots respectively.

South Korea conceded a goal immediately after the start of the second half. An unintended touch by the opponent perfectly connected to Haji Radif, who made a run and scored.

Coach Klinsmann sought to change the momentum by substituting Jung Woo-young with Hwang Hee-chan in the 9th minute of the second half. In the 18th minute, Lee Jae-sung and Jung Seung-hyun were replaced by Cho Gue-sung and Park Yong-woo. However, despite the substitutions, the attack failed to find a breakthrough.

South Korea’s attack only sharpened in the added time of the second half when the situation looked bleak. Around the 2nd minute of stoppage time, Lee Kang-in’s cross from the left connected to Cho Gue-sung’s header but unfortunately hit the post and bounced out. One minute later, Hwang In-beom’s cross from the right was headed by Hwang Hee-chan but went straight to the Saudi goalkeeper. In the following attack, Hwang Hee-chan broke through the defense and aimed a sharp left-footed shot at the far post, but it narrowly missed the right post. Relentlessly pressing the opponent’s goal, South Korea scored a dramatic equalizer just before the end of the match.

[Photo by Yonhap News]

Kim Tae-hwan’s cross from the right was a bit long, but Seol Young-woo headed it back to the center from the left, and Cho Gue-sung scored the equalizing goal with a header.

In extra time, South Korea dominated the attack. In the 7th minute of the first half of extra time, Kim Min-jae connected sharply with a header from Lee Kang-in’s corner kick, but the shot went straight to the opposing goalkeeper.

Coach Klinsmann made his fourth substitution just before the end of the first half of extra time, replacing Hwang In-beom with Hong Hyun-seok.

In the 10th minute of the second half of extra time, Hwang Hee-chan broke through the left side and created a good chance for Lee Kang-in in the center. Lee Kang-in’s powerful left-footed shot was saved by the diving Saudi goalkeeper.

Ultimately, no goals were scored, and thanks to Jo Hyeon-woo’s two saves in the penalty shootout, South Korea secured the victory.

With this win, South Korea has advanced to the Asian Cup quarterfinals for the eighth consecutive time since the 1996 tournament in the United Arab Emirates (UAE).

South Korea’s quarterfinal opponent is Australia. The match will be held on the 3rd of next month at 0:30 AM at Al Janoub Stadium in Al Wakrah.

This content was produced with the assistance of AI translation services.