SOUTH Korea was forced to dig deep to eke out a 1-1 draw in the most unbelievable fashion before going on to beat Saudi Arabia 4-2 in the ensuing penalty shootout in the round of 16 match here tonight (early morning Malaysian time).
Saudi Arabia’s Mohammed Kanno and Saud Abdulhamid both managed to beat South Korean goalkeeper Jo Hyeon-woo with their calm shots, but Hyeon-woo managed to read Sami Al-Najj and Abdulrahman Ghareeb’s intentions and stopped both penalties to propel his team through to the quarterfinals.
South Korean team captain Son Heung-min, Kim-Young-gwon, Cho Gue-sung and Hwang Hee-chan meanwhile had no problems beating Saudi Arabia’s keeper Ahmed Al-Kassar, each converting their penalties to ensure their team’s final victory.
South Korea fielded their strongest team for tonight’s match at Education City Stadium, as coach and German footballing legend Jurgen Klinsmann brought out Tottenham Hotspur star Son, Bayern Munich’s Kim Min-jae, Jeong Woo-yeong of VFB Stuttgart and Lee Kang-in, who plays for Paris Saint-Germain.
A highly-disciplined Saudi Arabia, with players drawn from their local professional league, not only managed to foil the South Koreans’ attempts at scoring in the first half, but went ahead when substitute Abdullah Radif, who replaced Saleh Al Shehri in the second half, found the net in the 46th minute.
The 21-year-old benefitted from a brilliant set up by team captain Salem Al-Dawsari, who managed to confuse the South Koreans with a deft deflection to Radif, allowing him to calmly take his shot from the right corner straight into the net.
With pressure mounting as every minute passed, South Korea went on the offensive, launching attack after attack yet the crucial equaliser they so desperately needed remained beyond their grasp.
Keeper Al-Kassar played brilliantly, displaying equal amounts of skill and luck at keeping the South Koreans at bay and as the 90th minute came and went, it seemed that he would have secured his team a hard-fought victory.
Fate, however, is a fickle mistress, and as injury time dragged on to the ninth minute, Cho Gue-sung finally snatched ‘victory’ from the jaws of defeat by heading in South Korea’s much-needed equaliser, courtesy of a cross by teammate Seol Young-woo.
The South Koreans played boldly during extra time and came close to scoring a few times, but Al-Kassar once again rose to the occasion and denied any opportunity to score, paving the way for the penalty shootout that ended in heartbreak for the Saudis.
Two-time champions South Korea will meet 2015 champions Australia in their quarterfinal match in Al Janoub Stadium this Friday.–Bernama
