Superb Sonny sends South Korea into semis
Fri 02 February 2024, 19:00|
Tottenham Hotspur
Two moments of inspiration from Heung-Min Son saw Korea Republic stage another late comeback to beat Australia 2-1 and progress to the 2023 Asian Cup semi-finals.
Having won the 96th-minute penalty which Hwang Hee-chan converted to keep his nation in the competition with the equaliser and send it to an additional 30 minutes, the South Korea captain was not done there as he curled in a stunning free kick on the stroke of half-time in extra-time to send the Reds into the last four.
The match-winner ✅ pic.twitter.com/QEmQplamo4
— Tottenham Hotspur (@SpursOfficial) February 2, 2024
In a repeat of the 2015 Asian Cup final, where Ange Postecoglou guided the Socceroos to their first title with a 2-1 win in extra-time despite Sonny's best efforts to stop them with a stoppage-time equaliser, Australia were on the brink of a famous upset having led for much of the contest through Craig Goodwin's first-half volley.
The green and gold will be ruing missed chances as Martin Boyle and Mitch Duke missed golden chances to double their lead but, as we've seen throughout this tournament in Qatar, Jurgen Klinsmann's side do not know when they're beaten and registered their fourth stoppage-time goal in five games after our number seven was brought down by substitute Lewis Miller before Wolverhampton Wanderers' Hwang dispatched the spot kick in the sixth minute of the seven added on.
That took the tie to extra-time where our number seven saved his best moment. After Miller had fouled Hwang on the left corner of the area, up stepped Sonny who curled a beauty of a free kick with dip and swerve past a full-stretch Mat Ryan to complete the turnaround in the 104th minute at Al Janoub Stadium.
There was more late drama as Aiden O'Neill was shown a red card following a VAR review for a late challenge on Hwang in stoppage-time of the first period of extra time as Sonny and his teammates saw out the victory.
South Korea will now face Jordan, a repeat of the Group E game which finished 2-2, in the last four on Tuesday 6 February (kick-off 3pm UK).
