After another nervous thriller, Jürgen Klinsmann reached the semi-finals of the Asian Cup with the South Korean national team. The two-time tournament winner beat Australia 2-1 (1-1, 0-1) after extra time, top star Heung-Min Son (104th) decided the duel with a remarkable free kick – Klinsmann cheered as if unleashed on the sidelines.
As in the round of 16 against Saudi Arabia, the title contender had been threatened with elimination for a long time. But shortly before the end of regular time, Hwang Hee-Chan (90th + 6) saved his team with a converted penalty kick into extra time, where the South Koreans came out on top.
Now the team of former national coach Klinsmann is against Jordan, which had previously won 1-0 (0-0) against the surprise team Tajikistan.
Australia outnumbered
Craig Goodwin’s goal (42nd) wasn’t enough for Australia. After conceding the second goal, Aiden O’Neill (105.+4) was shown the red card and the race to catch up when he was outnumbered was not successful.
Klinsmann, successor to the Portuguese Paulo Bento, is aiming to win the title with the South Koreans at the tournament in Qatar. “No maybe, we’re going there to win,” was the coach’s motto. The two-time Asian champions haven’t really impressed during the tournament; South Korea reached the quarterfinals after a dramatic penalty shootout in the round of 16 against Saudi Arabia.
Against the Australians, tournament winners in 2015 and with St. Pauli professionals Connor Metcalfe and Jackson Irvine in the starting line-up, South Korea initially only rarely had compelling scoring opportunities. Australia had the first good opportunity: Goodwin (19th) was denied by goalkeeper Jo Hyun-Woo, while on the other side South Korea celebrated the supposed 1-0. But Hwang’s goal (31′) didn’t count – offside.
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Shortly before half-time, Goodwin struck with a volley. South Korea fought back, but struggled against the attentive and physically strong Australian defense. The former Leipzig player Hwang then took advantage of the very late penalty, Son rewarded the South Koreans for their great morale.
