31-year-old Son Heung-min almost single-handedly saved the Korean team from the "death line"! In the second game of the 2023 Asian Cup quarter-finals in the early morning of the 3rd, Beijing time, the South Korean team relied on Son Heung-min's "point creation" in the second half of stoppage time and the direct free kick scored in the first half of overtime to make the world wave. The Australian team, which had one player sent off, reversed 2-1 and reached the top four as expected. They will face the dark horse Jordan team in the semi-finals.
There is no shortage of interesting plots in competitions involving the Korean team. From the second round of the group stage against Jordan, to the last round of the group stage against Malaysia, to the 1/8 finals against Saudi Arabia, the South Korean team scored in every game, but every game was thrilling and emotional. Difficult to calm down. After the quarter-finals, the AFC used the title "South Korea reversed to defeat Australia in thriller" on its official website, describing the twists and turns of the battle between South Korea and Australia.
I have to say that the Korean team is not taking an unusual path in this Asian Cup. In the second round of the group stage, they had a difficult draw with Jordan with a stoppage-time goal. In the final round of the group stage, they also scored 2 goals in stoppage time, but they were tied by the Malaysian team at the last moment, which inevitably caused the outside world to question "deliberately avoiding the Japanese team in the 1/8 finals."
In the 1/8 finals, they trailed the Saudi team by 1 goal for most of the game. It was not until the 9th minute of stoppage time that they scored with Cao Guicheng's buzzer-beating header and tied the score to 1-1. The game dragged into overtime, and finally eliminated the opponent through a penalty shootout and entered the top 8.
Facing the Australian team, which was waiting for work, the physical condition of the Korean team was severely tested. In the first half, the Australian team took advantage of its physical advantage and took advantage of the situation. In the 42nd minute, Goodwin volleyed from the right side of the Korean team's penalty area to break the deadlock.
However, when the Australian team coach Arnold took the lead, he suddenly became conservative in the use of troops. From about 10 minutes into the second half, the South Korean team firmly suppressed the Australian team in the half. But by taking advantage of the players' good physical condition and confrontation ability, the Australian team has saved the day many times. However, under the opponent's intensive offensive fire, the Australian team's defense line finally became sparse.
In the 6th minute of second half stoppage time, Son Heung-min broke into the penalty area and was tripped by an opponent's player. The Omani referee Kaif did not hesitate to point his finger at the penalty spot. Hwang Hee-chan took the penalty kick and helped the South Korean team equalize the score in a thrilling manner. Counting this goal, the South Korean team has scored in the second half of stoppage time in 4 consecutive games.
During the group stage, Son Heung-min only scored two penalty kicks, which made people mistakenly think that Tottenham's "number one" was lost in this Asian Cup. But facts have proven that when the team is in crisis, Son Heung-min has always been the spirit of the team who can step forward and turn the tide. In the 13th minute of overtime, the South Korean team got an excellent free kick opportunity on the right edge of the opponent's penalty area. Although the tall Australian team built a "human defense line", it still could not prevent Sun Xingmin's free kick from going straight into the dead corner of the goal.
Shortly thereafter, O'Neal of the Australian team kicked South Korea's Hwang Hee-chan. After starting the var technical intervention program and reviewing the incident video replay, referee Kraft decided to show O'Neal a red card instead. The Australian team, which had one less player to fight, was unable to make a comeback and was eventually eliminated 1-2.
In the 16th Asian Cup final in Sydney, Australia in 2015, the Australian team defeated the South Korean team 2-1 with Troy West's overtime goal, winning the championship for the first time in history. Son Heung-min, who once scored in that decisive battle and shed tears after losing the championship, refused to experience the tragedy again nine years later. He almost single-handedly saved South Korea at the Janub Stadium in Doha. After
eliminated the two seeded teams of Saudi Arabia and Australia in a row, the South Korean team will face their group stage opponent Jordan again in the semi-finals on the 6th. It is worth noting that their main defender Kim Min-jae will be absent in the next round due to accumulating two yellow cards.Next, the South Korean team may not dare to continue to perform the "magic drama". They need to go all out to deal with the dark horse of the Jordan team, so as to approach the first Asian Cup championship in 64 years.
text/Beiqing Sports Xiao Nan
