PH
Son Heung-min struck a remarkable free kick in extra time as South Korea rallied to defeat Australia 2-1 on Friday, advancing to an Asian Cup semi-final against Jordan.
It was another incredible escape for the Koreans, who needed a 96th-minute penalty from Hwang Hee-chan to stay in the game after Craig Goodwin gave Australia the lead in the opening half.
Jurgen Klinsmann’s South Korea scored in Qatar’s second half injury time for the fourth time in five games.
Tottenham’s Son, Asia’s greatest player and South Korea’s captain, had yet to make an impact at the tournament, but he delivered when it most.
He won a penalty after Lewis Miller pulled him down in injury time at the conclusion of normal time, and he went on to curl home a beautiful free-kick from the edge of the area in the 104th minute.
Klinsmann, who has faced criticism for South Korea’s performance in Qatar, led his players in a wild celebration at the finish.
Aiden O’Neill was sent off for lunging at Hwang at the end of the first period of extra time, so Australia finished the match with ten men.
“We’re devastated at the moment, quite emotional for all the players and the staff,” said Australia’s coach Graham Arnold.
“For the first 90-odd minutes we did very well until giving that penalty away. It’s been a great tournament for a lot of my players.”
He added: “We were up 1-0, we had chances for 2-0, 3-0, and if you don’t take your chances you get punished.”
The Koreans hope to win the Asian Cup for the first time since 1960.
They will be without Kim Min-jae in the semi-finals, as the Bayern Munich defender received his second booking of the tournament.
Jordan will be their opponents, having defeated Tajikistan 1-0 earlier in the day.
Australia had two days off before the match, while South Korea was still recovering from a difficult penalty-shootout victory over Saudi Arabia in the round of 16.
Wolverhampton Wanderers forward Hwang started for the first time in the tournament after recovering from a hip injury.
South Korea dominated the first half, but Australia scored the opening goal in the 42nd minute.
Hwang In-beom threw the ball away in the Korean defence, and Connor Metcalfe floated it to Goodwin at the back post, who volleyed home.
The Socceroos should have extended their lead 10 minutes later when Mitchell Duke flew over after goalkeeper Jo Hyeon-woo denied Martin Boyle twice.
Duke squandered another chance when he headed wide in the 84th minute, and the Koreans punished them with an equaliser from the penalty deep into injury time.
Son then finished the comeback by curling the ball inside Maty Ryan’s post for the victory.
