Korea wins 4-2 in penalty shootout against Saudi Arabia, advances to
Asian Cup quarterfinals for 8th consecutive time. Cho Gyu-seong, who was poor in three games against Australia , scored as the third kicker in the penalty shootout as his first substitute. Jo Hyun-woo, ‘Save the Show’, “I was confident I could stop it”
Cho Gyu-seong (third from the left, number 9) of the Korean national soccer team hits a header that equalized 1-1 in extra time in the second half of the Asian Cup round of 16 match against Saudi Arabia on the 31st. Korea, who pushed the game into overtime with this goal, won 4-2 in a penalty shootout and advanced to the quarterfinals.
“I thought, ‘Now we’ve scored one goal.’”
Korean national soccer team striker Cho Gyu-seong said this after the Asian Cup round of 16 match against Saudi Arabia on the 31st, saying, “I didn’t like it very much.” Rather than being happy, it seemed like he was satisfied with having shaken off all his troubles.
Korean soccer made a comeback with Cho Kyu-sung’s dramatic header just before the end of the second half, then defeated Saudi Arabia in a penalty shootout and advanced to the quarterfinals of the Asian Cup for the eighth time in a row. Korea tied 1-1 in overtime and then won 4-2 in a penalty shootout. Even though he made 22 shots on this day, his goal scoring ability was disappointing as he only scored 1 point. Korea, attempting to reach the top of the Asian Cup for the first time in 64 years, will compete with Australia at 0:30 on February 3 to advance to the semifinals.
Korea, which finished the first half with a 0-0 draw, conceded a goal to opposing striker Abdullah Radif just one minute into the second half. After allowing the lead, Korea pushed hard to open the opponent’s goal. However, Saudi Arabia’s defense was formidable. In particular, Saudi goalkeeper Ahmed Al Kassar’s wall was high. Jo Gyu-seong said, “He blocked it very well. There were many opportunities in the second half, but they were all blocked. “He was surprised,” he said.
Jo Gyu-seong doing a ‘finger heart’ ceremony after scoring a header goal.
It was Cho Kyu-sung’s header that sent the game, which seemed to end in Korea’s 0-1 loss, into overtime. Cho Gyu-seong received a header pass from the left side of the goal from Seol Young-woo in extra time in the second half and drilled into the goal. 10 minutes of extra time were given, but 9 minutes had passed. One minute after Cho Gyu-seong scored the equalizer, the referee blew the whistle to end the second half.
Cho Kyu-sung received a lot of criticism from soccer fans for his poor performance in the three group stage games of this tournament. Because he grew his hair long, a comment was made saying, ‘I don’t have any skills, but I just look good.’ He also received criticism saying, ‘Focus on soccer, not entertainment.’ Then, national team captain Son Heung-min came forward and said, “Please don’t shake the player. He also said, “Players also have families.” Cho Kyu-seong, who started as a starter in all three group games, came on as a substitute in the 19th minute of the second half in the round of 16 on this day, and came on as the third kicker in the penalty shootout and hit the net.
After the Saudi Arabia match, Cho Gyu-seong said, “I scored a goal and won as I wanted. “Of course it feels good to win, but I think the moment of the equalizer made me feel even more disappointed.” Education City Stadium, where the match was held on this day, is where Cho Kyu-sung scored multiple goals during the second match against Ghana in the group stage of the 2022 Qatar World Cup. At this time, he scored two goals with just his head. However, Cho Gyu-seong said that he did not know at first that this was where he played. Jo Gyu-seong said, “When I arrived, it looked like a stadium I had seen a lot of times. When I asked (Hwang) Hee-chan, he said it was the ‘Ghana match.’ As soon as I heard that, I thought, ‘It will be today.’ So he laughed to himself,” he said. Korea played all three group stage matches of the Qatar World Cup at this stadium.
If Cho Gyu-seong was the main contributor in pushing the game into overtime, the hero in the penalty shootout was goalkeeper Cho Hyun-woo. Cho Hyun-woo blocked the opponent’s third and fourth kickers’ shots with diving saves in succession, leading Korea to advance to the quarterfinals. Jo Hyun-woo said, “I practiced a lot. He was confident that he could stop it if it resulted in a penalty shootout. “I feel good about the good results,” he said. Jo Hyun-woo was originally the national team’s second goalkeeper. Starting goalkeeper Kim Seung-gyu suffered a torn knee ligament during training and has been guarding the goal since the second match of the group stage against Jordan.
Korea’s break time until the quarterfinals is shorter than that of Australia, so they are at a physical disadvantage. Australia advanced to the quarterfinals by beating Indonesia 4-0 on the 28th of last month. There was no overtime. Korean national team coach Jurgen Klinsmann said, “We wanted to finish first in our group so we could have more time to rest, but we ended up in second place. We have no choice but to accept the game schedule (according to the bracket). “I will prepare well by checking the players’ condition,” he said. 고스톱
