Cho Kyu-sung (Mit Whelan), who led the South Korean national soccer team to the quarterfinals of the tournament, scored an equalizer and succeeded in atoning his poor performance in the group stage.
The South Korean national soccer team, led by head coach Jürgen Klinsmann, won the match against Saudi Arabia in Qatar’s round of 16 at the 2023 Asian Football Confederation (AFC) Asian Cup at Alaiyan Education City Stadium in Qatar on the 31st (Korea time).
South Korea allowed the first goal in the first minute of the second half, but Cho Kyu-sung, who entered as a substitute in the second half, scored a dramatic header equalizer in the extra time to balance the game. Since then, all of South Korea’s No. 1 to 4 kickers have succeeded in the shootout, while gatekeeper Cho Hyun-woo has saved Saudi’s No. 3 and No. 4 kickers in a row, leading South Korea to a 4-2 victory.
Cho Kyu-sung, the main character of the equalizer, also came out as the No. 3 kicker and succeeded neatly, contributing to the victory. South Korea, which defeated Saudi Arabia, will face Australia in the quarterfinals after defeating Indonesia 4-0 at Alwakra Al-Zanub Stadium in Qatar at 0:30 a.m. on February 3.
One of the players who received the most attention from Korean fans on the day was Cho Kyu-sung. Cho showed poor performance in three group matches and only scored zero goals, receiving personal attacks from some fierce fans.
Although he was even excluded from the starting list in the first game of the tournament, Cho Kyu-sung waited for the opportunity with his determination, and he scored a dramatic equalizer at a crucial point in the second half, setting the stage for South Korea’s victory.
Cho Kyu-sung, who appeared in the joint coverage area (mix zone) after the game, said in an interview with reporters, “I feel good because I won, but if I saved more chances, I’m a little sad because I didn’t have to go to the penalty shootout.”
As for the moment when he scored the equalizer, he said, “Honestly, I think it was more regrettable than I was happy,” adding, “So I didn’t like it very much. I just thought, ‘Now I have a goal’.” 마카오토토도메인
On the fact that he was included in the bench list for the match, Cho said, “I was preparing because I thought I would make it under any circumstances,” adding, “I had so many chances in the second half, but I was surprised whenever the goalie blocked me. Still, if you knock, you will make it.”
When asked about the moment of the penalty shootout, he showed off his strength, saying, “I was not nervous at all.” Earlier, Saudi’s No. 3 kicker missed, which could have made him nervous, but Cho Kyu-sung completely deceived the goalkeeper and put a shot into the right corner of the net.