Son Heung-min, Hwang Hee-chan save the day to carry Korea into semifinals

Football

Published: 03 Feb. 2024, 04:14

Son Heung-min, Hwang Hee-chan save the day to carry Korea into semifinals

Korea's Son Heung-min, left, celebrates with Hwang Hee-chan after scoring his side's second goal during an Asian Cup quarterfinal against Australia at Al Janoub Stadium in Qatar on Friday. [AP/YONHAP]

Heart rates spiked across the country as Korea once again left it until stoppage time to turn things around in the quarterfinals of the 2023 Asian Cup, tying things up with Australia moments before the final whistle and then taking the lead in the first half of extra time.

Korea beat Australia 2-1 at Al Janoub Stadium in Qatar on Friday evening, advancing to the semifinals where they will face Jordan on Tuesday night.

Hwang Hee-chan and Son Heung-min were the heroes of the night on Friday with a goal apiece, Hwang from a stoppage time penalty and Son from an extra time free kick.

Hwang’s goal canceled out an earlier effort from Australia’s Craig Goodwin, who snuck the ball past Jo Hyeon-woo after a complicated goalmouth scramble.

It took the best part of an hour for Korea to bounce back from Goodwin’s goal at the end of the second half, the Taeguk Warriors struggling to convert despite having a huge 74 percent of the possession.

Hwang’s penalty came after a foul on Son in the box, so it was fitting that after Hwang was brought down just outside the box in the 104th minute, it was Son that stepped up to fire the ball into the net.

That goal gave Korea a 2-1 lead, and with Australia later going down to 10 men it was just a matter of holding on to take the game and a ticket to the semifinals.

The win could mark a turning point for Korea. After four difficult games, the Taeguk Warriors showed signs that they were starting to play like a team — plays fitting together more effectively and the ball actually moving up the pitch.

There were still problems in the final third. Korea still have no answer for a heavy defense and seem to lack confidence in front of goal, but the improvements compared to last week’s draw with Malaysia or the previous week’s draw with Jordan were obvious.

Part of that may be thanks to the return of Hwang Hee-chan, who slotted back into the starting lineup after missing the first three games due to injury and coming on as a sub last week.

That the opponent was Australia, who attempted a more aggressive approach than the likes of Malaysia or Bahrain, also helped, giving Korea a little more space to work with on the attack.

Friday’s game marked the fourth in a row when Korea pulled things back in stoppage time, directly mimicking the late Cho Gue-sung equalizer against Saudi Arabia in the round of 16. The same thing happened against Malaysia in the group stage, although that game briefly gave Korea a 3-2 lead before Malaysia returned the favor a few minutes later, and against Jordan, when an own goal tied things up at 90+1.

That Korea have become this last-gasp team speaks to the desperation of the squad, underperforming over the regulation 90 minutes in the one tournament they’re especially desperate to win. There were signs Friday of cracks in that malaise — hints of the skills that the likes of Son, Hwang Hee-chan and Lee Kang-in display in club games finally creeping back into the national team.

The Taeguk Warriors will now advance to face Jordan in the semifinals on Tuesday night, or early on Wednesday morning in Korea.

The two teams tied 2-2 in the group stage in a harrowing game with an own goal apiece and very little offensive football on display from Korea.

The rematch will have to be a very different game of football if Korea want to reach the final. They’ll also have to do it without Kim Min-jae who misses Tuesday’s game after getting his second yellow card of the tournament on Friday.

Korea face Jordan at Ahmed bin Ali Stadium in Qatar at 6 p.m. on Tuesday evening, or at midnight that night in Korea.

BY JIM BULLEY [jim.bulley@joongang.co.kr]