Anchor: The South Korean men's national football team took down Australia in the quarterfinals of the AFC Asian Cup in Qatar on Friday, advancing to the semifinal match against Jordan. Captain Son Heung-min scored a free kick goal in extra time, defeating ten-man Australia 2-1.
Kim Bum-soo has more
Report:
[Sound bite: S. Korea-Australia AFC Asian Cup Quarterfinals (Feb. 2 / Al Janoub Stadium)]
The Taegeuk Warriors, led by head coach Jürgen Klinsmann, allowed the first goal in the 42nd minute at Qatar's Al Janoub Stadium, after a short pass by Hwang In-beom outside the South Korean box ended up in front of Nathaniel Atkinson, who crossed the ball to Craig Goodwin for a left foot volley.
The Socceroos sought to cling on to their 1-0 lead until the clock ran out but four minutes into added time, Son Heung-min was brought down by Lewis Miller for the penalty, which Hwang Hee-chan capitalized to even up the score.
[Sound bite: S. Korea-Australia AFC Asian Cup Quarterfinals (Feb. 2 / Al Janoub Stadium)]
In the 14th minute of extra time, Son Heung-min secured South Korea's victory with a free kick after Hwang Hee-chan drew a foul outside the left side of the box, redeeming a crushing loss to Australia in the final game of the Asian Cup nine years ago.
The Australian side's frustration was made visible in late moments of the first extra period with Aiden O'Neill being red carded for a hard tackle on Hwang.
After the match, Son said Team Korea was ready to battle hard.
[Sound bite: S. Korean Nat’l Football Team Captain Son Heung-min (English)]
“It was… It was a tough, tough match, and obviously, ideally… it was not the way we want to win the game but if it has to be (this way), then we are happy to win. Both sides were doing amazing job…”
"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."
Klinsmann told reporters that his team is hungry for victory.
[Sound bite: S. Korean Nat’l Football Team Head Coach Jurgen Klinsmann]
"Obviously, it was another drama. We're extremely happy and thrilled to go through. It was a hard hard fought fight with Australia. We expected it. But to go 120 minutes again, I'm proud of this team and their spirit."
“We are hungry, we are very hungry, and we are now still here and we want to be here until the very end.”
South Korea is set to face Jordan in the semifinals at Al Janoub Stadium, south of Doha Tuesday evening.
The two sides are no strangers to each other, having scored two goals apiece when they met in the second Group E match.
Kim Bum-soo, KBS World Radio News.