The face mask was thrown in the air on the final whistle and Son Heung-min was liberated. It would be an eternity before South Korea felt the same. Paulo Bento’s team had honoured their side of the bargain with a 91st minute winner against his native Portugal but one more goal for Uruguay against Ghana and it would be the South Americans who advanced at their expense. For seven long minutes South Korea waited for Uruguay to finish, while gathered around mobile phones in the centre circle, and then came the eruption.
When the torment was finally over South Korea’s players sprinted to their fans behind the goal where the Wolves striker Hwang Hee-chan had completed a stirring comeback when pouncing on Son’s immaculate assist. The Tottenham striker had been relatively quiet until the 90th minute, standing out mainly for the protective mask on his face, but then he collected a clearance from a Portugal corner deep inside his own half and ran. And ran. And kept on running until he reached the edge of the Portugal penalty area, where he threaded a pass through the legs of Diogo Dalot to leave Hwang with a place in the last 16 and the hopes of a nation at his feet.
