defeated Australia, South Korea once again reached the Asian Cup semi-finals after 9 years, extending its unbeaten record in all competitions to 13 games, and will continue to attack the 64-year-old curse of not winning the Asian Cup!
As one of the favorite teams to win this Asian Cup, South Korea has stumbled all the way in the Asian Cup. After an easy win in the first game, they drew with Jordan and Malaysia. Although he advanced as expected and ranked second in the group, his avoidance of Japan made Klinsmann infamous.
16 In the strong match against Saudi Arabia, Klinsmann chose to change his formation, but he played in a mess and did not tie the score until the 8th minute of stoppage time. In the penalty shootout, Cho Hyun-woo blocked two penalty kicks to help South Korea survive the danger.
Although they avoided Japan as they wished, South Korea's physical fitness became a disadvantage when facing Australia. They had two days less rest than their opponents and played the full 120 minutes against Saudi Arabia.
More importantly, they met the team with the best defense in this Asian Cup. Australia only conceded 1 goal in the first 4 games, and the defense was tall and strong, which made Cho Kyu-sung and Son Heung-min suffer.
Facing Australia, South Korea actually had 0 shots in the first half and did not get its first shot until the 48th minute. Not only that, Huang Renfan's low-level mistake allowed Goodwin to score a sweep and Australia took the lead early.
Until the 4th minute of stoppage time, Son Heung-min broke into the penalty area and won a penalty kick. Huang Heecan took the penalty kick and the game entered overtime again.
In the 103rd minute, Son Heung-min took a free kick and scored directly, helping South Korea reverse the score. 2 minutes later, O'Neal tackled Huang Xican in midfield and left the field.
In the end, South Korea advanced to the semi-finals after defeating Australia. This was the first time they advanced to the semi-finals since 2015. At the same time, they extended their unbeaten record in all competitions to 13 games.
Of course, they also set an embarrassing record. In this Asian Cup, South Korea conceded 5 consecutive games and a total of 8 goals, setting a record for goals conceded in a single Asian Cup in team history.
In two consecutive Asian Cups, South Korea conceded goals in 7 consecutive games, also setting a new record in team history. The last team that was kept clean by South Korea in the Asian Cup was the national football team.
Starting from the game against Jordan, South Korea scored in stoppage time in 4 consecutive games, which allowed them to create a new Asian Cup record. Even though their physical fitness was not as good as their opponents, the Korean players used their willpower to crush their opponents. Son Heung-min scored a point in stoppage time and scored a free kick in overtime, which is an excellent manifestation of willpower.
Although in order to avoid Japan, consecutive draws with Jordan and Malaysia made Klinsmann and Korean players controversial. But in the two knockout rounds, the performance of the Korean players is worthy of respect, and this is also their biggest weight in being able to compete for the championship.
