In dramatic fashion, South Korea are somehow still alive in the Asian Cup — and headed for a duel with Australia

AL RAYYAN, Qatar — As Uzbek referee Ilgiz Tantashev got the players into position to start extra-time of Saudi Arabia‘s AFC Asian Cup round of 16 meeting with South Korea, Stayin’ Alive by the Bee Gees rang out across Education City Stadium.

Planned or not, there could not have been a song more extraordinarily appropriate, perfectly encapsulating both South Korea’s last-gasp equaliser to send the game to extra time — and their steely resolve to win a shootout to book a meeting with Australia in the quarterfinals.

With less than sixty seconds to go of the ten minutes of stoppage time added onto the 90, the South Koreans were hurling themselves forward once more.

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Down 1-0 thanks to substitute Abdullah Radif‘s goal moments into the second half, arguably the most talented Taegeuk Warriors side of all time was staring down a worst-ever Asian Cup since 1992 — and coach Jürgen Klinsmann was on the verge of facing the consequences of leading them there.

For nearly half an hour, a 12-foot double-decker bus wearing green and white had been parked in front of the Saudi Arabia goal, with every defensive action greeted by a roar of approval from a crowd almost entirely at the backs of the West Asian nation.

But the chances were coming for South Korea.

The side’s talisman, Son Heung-Min, found space and drove in a shot in the 87th minute, only for a wall of defenders to materialise in his path. Substitute Park Yong-Woo found space but headed wide in the 89th, moments before ten minutes of extra-time were signalled on the sideline.

Cho Gue-Sung, somehow, directed a point-blank header into the crossbar rather than the net. Hwang Hee-Chan, another substitute, then sent in a headed effort that forced keeper Ahmed Al-Kassar into a strong save at the back post before moments later dragged a shot across the goal.

And then, in the 99th minute, it happened.

Another ball was swung into the Saudi penalty area, finding wing-back Seol Young-Woo at the back post. The angle an extreme one, the 25-year-old opted to direct the ball back across the face of the goal, over the desperately raised hand of Al-Kassar, and onto the head of Cho.

This time, the Midtjylland attacker would not waste his opportunity — rising over the top of a despairing Ali Lajami and levelling proceedings.

Saudi Arabia 1-1 South Korea.

The Saudi Arabia crowd was stunned, the drums behind the goals were beating but the chanting and noise accompanying them were flat; it would take several minutes for them to rediscover their voice. Their side had largely had the game in hand for much of the contest, limiting the South Korean threat until they retreated into their shell to protect their one-goal lead.

And now they were off to extra time.

There was a feeling that Tuesday evening’s encounter was a mammoth contest. Two of Asia’s best teams, featuring some of the continent’s brightest stars, led by two of its highest-profile (and highest-paid) coaches — Klinsmann in the South Korean dugout and former Italy and Manchester City boss Roberto Mancini in the other.

And from the kickoff, it felt like it was a titanic encounter. But of a different sort.

Monumental not because the action immediately dazzled but rather because there was a decided air of caution from both sides — neither wanting to be the one that made the error that opened the door for their opponent to seize a vital breakthrough.

Both units were sitting deep in a 5-3-2 out-of-possession, their backlines almost completely flat as the other advanced forward, and chances from open play — especially those born of an extended build-up — came at a premium as a result. It was a new look for South Korea under Klinsmann.

Indeed, the Asian Cup trophy featured on that pregame Saudi Arabia tifo had sat on a chessboard, and a chess match was what this game increasingly resembled. Not because of a thrilling back and forth, but more in the sense that that’s a chess match is often a metaphor used to put a positive spin on a game in which both sides are largely cancelling the other out with their approach.

🤯 It hit the crossbar TWICE in a few seconds!

How did Korea Republic survive this one? 👀 #AsianCup2023 | #HayyaAsia | #KSAvKOR pic.twitter.com/jOOLEdDzaP

— #AsianCup2023 (@afcasiancup) January 30, 2024

As the game progressed through its opening 45 minutes, it increasingly felt like any kind of moment to break the tension would come from a moment of transition or broken play, wherein the defence would not have the time to retreat into their shape and fill the angles and passing lines to their goal.

And while Saudi Arabia’s Salem Al-Dawsari and Saleh Al-Shehri are fine players, given that South Korea had Son up top, arguably the finest finisher in the world today, it felt like this was a scenario that favoured the Taegeuk Warriors.

But the Saudi defence worked and worked, and they held firm. Ali Al-Bulaihi swarmed Son after his attempted control of a long ball forward bounced favourably for him in the 26th minute and forced his resulting shot to tamely slide into the waiting arms of Al-Kassar. Five minutes later, a piece of broken play fell to the Tottenham star for a snap-shot, but the defence was able to scramble and take enough off his effort to make another easy save for Al-Kassar.

Up the other end, the Saudis had more of the ball but very little to show for it from open play. But they still had the best chance of the opening stanza from a corner in the 41st minute, when in a series of heartstopping moments Al-Shehri crashed a headed effort off the post, Lajami looped the rebound back with a header that bounced off the crossbar, and Al-Dawsari sent in another header that hung in the air for an age before being deflected just wide.

Mancini then swung a change at halftime, bringing on Radif for Al-Shehri and was rewarded all of forty seconds into the second stanza when Al-Dawsari cushioned a beautiful touch behind the South Korean lines for him to run onto and finish.

But just under an hour later, as the first period of extra time got underway, Radif and his teammates weren’t doing much creating anymore.

After sitting back so deep towards the game’s conclusion, their ability to flick the switch and kickstart their attack again was being tested. And it was the South Koreans that were doing most of the attacking.

Kim Min-Jae forced Al-Kassar into a save with a headed effort from a corner in the 98th minute. An opportunity to fire into an open goal after the Saudi keeper was caught off his line was then squandered in the 108th and Al-Kassar was forced into a dramatic diving save by a wicked Lee Kang-In effort in the 115th.

By this point, the crowd had found its voice again, perhaps sensing the spectre of penalties looming as the players on the pitch struggled to keep their legs underneath them. As players fell to the turf, the Saudi Arabians had one final chance to take things out when they broke in transition, bodies left cramping in their wake, and squared the ball for Radif, only for keeper Jo Hyeon-Woo to push it away.

No winner was found. Penalties would be needed.

As the two sides huddled together on the playing surface, the stadium DJ was now playing the instrumental version Lose Yourself by Eminem. Fans were praying in the stands, before bursting into a roar as Mohamed Kanno slotted the first of the shootout and drowning Son in an avalanche of boos before he answered back for South Korea.

There were cheers as Saud Abdulhamid struck true and jeers as Kim Young-Gwon answered.

Then, an almost strangled cry of anguish as Jo saved Sami Al-Najei‘s effort and some fans even began to file out as Cho placed a perfectly placed effort into the bottom corner and Jo guessed right again, this time denying Abdulrahman Ghareeb after a nervous, stuttering run-up.

It was all on the next penalty.

Hwang against Al-Kassar. Mancini was up the tunnel, he couldn’t watch. The stadium waited. And waited some more. The Wolves man content to work at his pace. And then he struck true.

Somehow, South Korea had stayed alive.