Son, Hwang carry Korea to semifinals as Jordan rematch looms

Son Heung-min reacts after Australia scores the opening goal of an Asian Cup quarterfinal match between Korea and Australia in Qatar on Friday. [NEWS1]

Heart rates spiked across the country on Friday as Korea once again left it until stoppage time to turn things around in the quarterfinals of the 2023 Asian Cup. The Taeguk Warriors now face a rematch against Jordan, a team they only just held to a draw two weeks ago, to stay in the competition.

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.

"We showed fantastic spirit, character, and energy again to come back and turn it around," head coach Jurgen Klinsmann told tvN after the game. "I am super, super proud of every single player, even the players that didn't play, because it was a performance done by the entire team.

“They badly wanted to win this game. When captain Sonny scored the free kick, we thought we were going to take this home."

But with four teams now left in the 2023 Asian Cup, Korea needs to learn to do more than just wait for late penalty or an opportunistic header if they seriously want to chase their first Asian Cup title in more than 60 years.

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.

"This isn't really the way we want to win matches, but we were ready to battle hard," Son said after the quarterfinals. "Winning this way will help with the morale of the whole team. I was really touched by the sacrifices that everyone on the team made.

“Each and every one of the guys deserves to be complimented."

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 — but the result is yet to change.

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.

"It doesn't matter what happened in the group stage,” Son said. “No matter whom we face at this point, we have to bring our best. Now that we've come this far, we want to do our very best to accomplish our goal."

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.

"We respect them a lot,” Klinsmann said. “They played very, very well against us. Now, we're hungry for more."
The winner of that game will advance to face either reigning champions Qatar, who knocked Korea out of the 2019 competition, or Iran, who beat title favorites Japan in the quarterfinals.

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]