AL WAKRAH – Tottenham Hotspur star Son Heung-min scored the winner to send South Korea into the semi-finals of the 2023 Asian Cup as they beat Australia 2-1 today but did not see it as revenge.
Son and the Taegeuk Warriors were denied a third title after losing to Australia by the same scoreline in the final of the 2015 edition in Sydney.
The 31-year-old forward who scored in the 2015 final loss said the defeat nine years ago was indeed painful but also matured him, who has enjoyed a brilliant career since then.
“Back in 2015 it was painful, but I wouldn’t call it revenge. It’s part of football and that helped me mature as a player,” he said after the intense quarter-final clash at the Al Janoub Stadium, here.
In the match that went into extra time, Son showed his class when he scored a beautiful free kick just outside the penalty box in the 104th minute after earning a penalty for South Korea to equalise late in the game.
Son was then seen running towards the Australian bench and celebrating his third goal in the competition full of emotion.
Wolverhampton Wanderers striker Hwang Hee-chan converted the penalty six minutes into the added time of the second half after Craig Goodwin had put Graham Arnold’s Socceroos ahead in the 42nd minute.
Meanwhile, South Korea head coach Jurgen Klinsmann was happy with the positive character shown by his side to win another match that lasted up to 120 minutes after overcoming Saudi Arabia through a penalty shootout in the last 16 round.
“Obviously it was another drama, and we are extremely happy and thrilled to go through it. It was a hard fight with Australia but we expected it. But to go 120 minutes again, I’m proud of this team and their spirit,
“We’re in the semi-final now and we play Jordan. It speaks about how tough our group was with two teams in the semis,” said the 59-year-old German who was also a World Cup winner in 1990.
In the semi-final next Tuesday, South Korea, the two-time champions eager to end a 64-year title drought, will lock horns with Jordan which saw the two teams having played to a 2-2 draw in their Group E clash. – February 3, 2024