In the early morning of February 3rd, Beijing time, the Qatar Asian Cup entered the second quarter-finals. The two favorite teams met on a narrow road. South Korea, ranked 23rd in the world, faced off against Australia, ranked 25th in FIFA. Two goals The teams ranked third and fourth respectively in Asia.
In the previous quarter-finals, Australia defeated Indonesia and easily advanced to the quarter-finals. South Korea faced Saudi Arabia, and it was not until the 99th minute that Cho Kyu-sung completed the tie. After 120 minutes and a penalty shootout, the South Korean team defeated Saudi Arabia and advanced to the quarterfinals.
For South Korea, the unfavorable factor is that the team not only played overtime, but also lost two days of rest, which put their physical fitness to the test.
After the start, the Korean team used its strengths and avoided weaknesses, tried to avoid physical confrontation, and controlled the rhythm of the game through more skillful ball control. As long as he sees the opportunity, he will immediately launch a long pass to hit the Australian defender behind, trying to use the relative speed to tear open the Australian defense line.
In the 18th minute, Mettav's long shot from outside the penalty area missed. This was also the first shot of the two teams in this game. It's more than intense but not exciting enough.
2 minutes later, Australia missed a golden opportunity. Goodwin's shot was saved by Zhao Xianyou in the middle of the penalty area. Duke faced the half-empty goal and kicked too far.
The Korean team seemed to be playing lively, but in fact it was difficult to create good opportunities. The thunder was loud but the rain was small.
In the 31st minute, Son Heung-min made an accurate diagonal pass, Seol Young-woo made a low pass, and Huang Hee-can scored with a shovel. The linesman immediately raised the flag to indicate offside, var checked, and the original verdict was upheld.
In the 42nd minute, Huang Renfan made a mistake in passing the ball and directly gave the opponent a great opportunity. Mettav passed the ball and Goodwin took a step back and volleyed to break the deadlock.
Throughout the first half of the game, the South Korean team had a ball possession rate of 70%, but they did not have a single shot. It was embarrassing enough. Australia shot 6 times and 2 of them were on target.
Three minutes into the second half, Li Gangren's shot in the penalty area failed to hit the power and angle, and was weak. This was also the South Korean team's first shot of the game.
was behind in the score and aggressively pressed forward to attack, which would inevitably cause trouble for the defense. In the 55th minute, the South Korean team almost fell behind by two goals.
Australia's simple cross from the side penetrated South Korea's defense. Boyle kicked the ball with his head and kicked, Zhao Xianyou made a miraculous save, Duke stretched his bow and arrow, but unfortunately hit high, and the South Korean team escaped.
The Korean team seems to have been completely manipulated by Australia. They are powerless and unable to play regular offense at all. Despite their dominance in possession, South Korea always fell behind.
On the contrary, Australia's counterattack can always threaten South Korea's goal. In the 83rd minute, Duke's header missed a good opportunity and almost killed the game.
In the 94th minute, Sun Xingmin faced a defense of four people and fell to the ground after breaking into the penalty area. The referee decisively awarded a penalty kick.
In the 96th minute, Hwang Hee-chan took a penalty kick and hit the upper left corner with great force, completing the tie. The South Korean team, which shot three times in the 90th minute, dragged the game into overtime, replicating the result against Saudi Arabia in the quarter-finals. One scene.
At the beginning of overtime, Matthew Ryan made a brave save in the face of South Korea's two consecutive attacks.
As the game progressed, Australia's physical fitness began to decline sharply after two more days of rest, and players had more and more difficulty controlling the ball.
In the 104th minute, the South Korean team got a free kick from the left side of the penalty area. Son Heung-min hit a perfect world wave. The ball hit the dead center and entered the net. The South Korean team took the lead.
At the last moment of the first half, O'Neill tackled Huang Xican and received a red card. Australia was unable to come back. In the second half of overtime, neither team scored.
In the end, with Son Heung-min's penalty kick in the 95th minute and a free kick in the 104th minute, the South Korean team reversed the Australian team 2-1, avenged the loss in the Asian Cup final nine years ago and broke into the semi-finals.
