South Korea, coached by Jürgen Klinsmann, qualified for the quarter-finals of the Asian Cup of Nations by overthrowing Roberto Mancini’s Saudi Arabia after the penalty shootout (1- 1 ap, 4 tab to 2), Tuesday in Al-Rayyan (Qatar).
The duel between the selections led by the two former glories of the 1990s turned to the advantage of the German. The Italian’s team led until the last minute of added time thanks to a goal scored by Abdullah Radif (1-0, 46th). But a header from Cho Gue-sung allowed the South Koreans to snatch extra time (1-1, 90+9).
Lee booked in 114th minute
During this additional half hour, Bayern Munich defender Kim Min-jae almost imitated his teammate (98th), but his header was returned by the goalkeeper as was Radif’s strike on the Saudi side (120+3).
It was ultimately on penalties that everything was decided. Jo Hyeon-woo was South Korea’s hero as he repelled attempts from Sami Al Naji and Abdulrahman Ghareeb. Visibly disappointed, Roberto Mancini chose to return to the locker room after the failures of his two players and before Hwang Hee-chan’s last victorious shot on goal.
South Korea, whose two victories in the competition date back to 1956 and 1960, will face Australia in the quarterfinals on Friday. The adventure therefore continues for Kang-In Lee, the PSG player, who played the entire match, received a booking in the 114th minute.
Update on the round of 16
(qualified nations in bold)
(+) Australia – Indonesia 4 – 0
Tajikistan – United Arab Emirates 1 – 1 tab (5-3)
Iraq – Jordan 2 – 3
Qatar – Palestine 2 – 1
Uzbekistan – Thailand 2 – 1
Saudi Arabia – South Korea (1-1 ap, 2 tab to 4),
Wednesday January 31
Bahrain – Japan
Iran – Syria
The quarter-final program
Friday February 2
(12:30 p.m.) Tajikistan – Jordan
(4:30 p.m.) Australia – South Korea
.Saturday February 3
(12:30 p.m.) Iran or Syria – Bahrain or Japan
(4:30 p.m.) Qatar – Uzbekistan
The semi-finals will take place on February 6 and 7, with the final scheduled for February 10.
