South Korea defeats Saudi Arabia on penalties, meets Australia in quarter-finals
Asian Cup 2023 Round of 16 Schedule and Results
18:30 January 28: Australia 4-0 Indonesia
23:00 January 28: Tajikistan 1-1 (penalty 5-3) UAE
18:30 January 29: Iraq 2-3 Jordan
23:00 January 29: Qatar 2-1 Palestine
18:30 January 30: Uzbekistan 2-1 Thailand
23:00 January 30: Saudi Arabia 1-1 (penalty 2-4) Korea.
18:30 January 31: Bahrain vs Japan
23:00 January 31: Iran vs Syria
"Actually, before the match, my wife advised me to lean to the right. It was a coincidence," goalkeeper Jo Hyeon Woo shared with reporters when asked about the secret to helping South Korea defeat Saudi Arabia in a nerve-wracking penalty shootout in the round of 16 of the 2023 Asian Cup on the evening of January 30, thereby helping the home team qualify for the quarterfinals.
Despite being rated higher, the Korean team had difficulty against Saudi Arabia's solid and elegant play. Coach Klinsmann's team even let Saudi Arabia open the scoring early in the second half.
It seemed like Korea would have to say goodbye to the tournament early in the round of 16, but striker Cho Gue Sung scored a valuable goal in the 90+9 minute of extra time to help the home team revive their hope of advancing.
Goalkeeper Jo Hyeon Woo brilliantly saved two penalties from Saudi Arabia and helped South Korea qualify for the quarter-finals of the 2023 Asian Cup (Photo: Chosun).
After two goalless extra periods, the South Korean team comfortably won against Saudi Arabia in a nerve-wracking penalty shootout with a score of 4-2. Goalkeeper Jo Hyeon Woo was the hero when he brilliantly saved two penalties from Saudi Arabia to help South Korea reach the quarterfinals.
"I think we deserved to win. I'm confident that I'll be able to save the penalty if the match goes to a penalty shootout. I've practiced a lot of penalty situations," goalkeeper Jo Hyeon Woo happily shared after helping his team win.
Goalkeeper Cho Hyun Woo celebrates with his Korean teammates after defeating Saudi Arabia (Photo: Chosun).
"Goalkeeper coach Andreas Kopke gave me confidence and told me that all my judgments were correct. We will trust each other in the next match and do our best until the end to achieve a good result," the 32-year-old goalkeeper added.
Notably, goalkeeper Jo Hyeon Woo also said that he was lucky to save two penalties after listening to his wife's advice before the match. "I have to thank my wife. She told me to lean to the right. I will try my best until the team's last match, because my wife will always support me wholeheartedly."
Meanwhile, striker Cho Gue Sung, who scored for the Korean team in injury time, also shared: "To be honest, I felt more disappointed than happy when I scored in the last seconds.
I don't like it very much, because the whole team had to work very hard. At the moment I just think, at least we won."
Notably, Cho Gue Sung also scored in a friendly match against Saudi Arabia last September. The 26-year-old striker added: "It's strange that last time I scored with my head and this time I scored with my head. Hwang In Beom also said that I play football with only my head. I admit that too," said Cho Gue Sung.
After a thrilling victory over Saudi Arabia, the South Korean team will face another challenge, Australia, in the quarter-finals on February 3.
Watch Live & Complete Asian Cup 2023 on FPT Play, at: https://fptplay.vn/
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