Former national coach Jürgen Klinsmann reached the quarter-finals with South Korea at the Asian Cup after a nerve-wracking football game. In the round of 16 duel between two 2022 World Cup participants, the South Koreans won 4-2 (1-1, 1-1, 0-0) on penalties against Saudi Arabia in Al-Rajjan on Tuesday.
Guesung Cho saved South Korea into extra time with his goal in the ninth minute of stoppage time. Abdullah Radif (46th) scored to give Saudi Arabia the lead in the Education City Stadium. South Korea held its nerve in the penalty shootout, with former Leipzig and Hamburg player Hee-Chan Hwang converting the decisive penalty.
In the first game of the day, Uzbekistan moved into the quarter-finals with a 2-1 (1-0) win against Thailand. Azizbek Turgunbojew (37th) and Abbosbek Faysullayev (65th) scored for the Uzbeks. Supachok Sarachat scored the equalizer for Thailand (58th). Uzbekistan will face hosts Qatar in the quarter-finals on Saturday (4:30 p.m.).
The 59-year-old Klinsmann took over the South Korean team in March 2023 and his contract runs until after the 2026 World Cup in the USA, Canada and Mexico. Against Saudi Arabia, as he often did in the tournament, he relied on Wooyeong Jeong from VfB Stuttgart, Minjae Kim from FC Bayern Munich and Jaesung Lee from FSV Mainz 05. The trio is still missing from the Bundesliga clubs due to their place in the quarter-finals.
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The South Korean team finished the preliminary round in second place in Group E with just one win and two draws. In the quarter-finals on Friday (4.30 p.m. CET) against Australia, a place in the medal games is at stake. A title would mean the end of a 64-year drought for the South Koreans.
