For 94 minutes Australia looked like they were going to upset the odds and progress to the semi-finals of the Asian Cup at the expense of South Korea’s star-studded team.
But despite leading for much of the game through Craig Goodwin’s brilliant first-half volley, two moments of inspiration from Korea’s star man – Son Heung-min – saw the Socceroos eliminated 2-1 in Doha in the cruellest of circumstances.
Son, whose career has been revitalised at Tottenham Hotspur by former Socceroos boss Ange Postecoglu, had been kept quiet for much of the game.
Then, with only three minutes of added time remaining and his team trailing 1-0, Son turned Harry Souttar and was brought down by a needless challenge in the box by the substitute, Lewis Miller. Another Premier League player, Hwang Hee-chan of Wolves, converted the penalty and Korea had a lifeline they scarcely deserved.
Son wasn’t done though. After the hapless Miller fouled Hwang on the edge of the box in the first period of extra time, Son belted in an excellent free kick and his team will face Jordan in the semi-finals after they beat Tajikistan 1-0.
Goal for Australia!
— Danish (@kohkun654) February 2, 2024
Australia take the lead! A perfect volley from Craig Goodwin
🇦🇺 0-0 🇰🇷#AUSvKOR #Socceroos #AsianCup2023 #DifferentBreed pic.twitter.com/68iPGTmulZ
Aiden O’Neill was then sent off for a crunching challenge on Hwang with his initial yellow card upgraded to a straight red after a VAR referral. Australia, already struggling to hang on after a magnificent rearguard performance in the second half of normal time, were cooked.
It was a tough way to lose and follows an agonising exit at the same stage against the United Arab Emirates in the 2019 edition of the tournament.
“It’s quite devastating, quite emotional for the players and staff how we finished the game. We played well for the first 90 minutes till we conceded the penalty,” coach Graham Arnold said.
“South Korea’s players play in top leagues with a fast tempo and they can keep it up. They’re playing for teams like Tottenham, Wolves – they can run the legs off teams and punish us in the end.”
Although Australia had been on the backfoot for much of the second half and conceded a lot of possession, they fashioned the best chances of the actual 90 minutes.
They will rue the chances they spurned, especially two that fell to Mitch Duke, who along with Goodwin, started the match after returning from injury via the bench against Indonesia.
Hwang tapped home in the 32nd minute but it was ruled offside and Australia took the lead 10 minutes later.
Goodwin pounced on a loose pass then worked the ball to Duke, who found Connor Metcalfe, who slipped through Nathaniel Atkinson out wide.
Atkinson lofted the ball to the back post where Goodwin drilled a skidding volley home.
Harry Souttar was booked just before halftime after catching Cho Gue-sung high and would have missed the semi-final through suspension had Australia progressed.
In the 53rd minute, Jo Hyeon-woo saved a seemingly goal-bound header from Martin Boyle, then his follow-up shot, before Duke hooked the rebound over the bar.
Then, in the 84th minute, Bos lofted the ball across goal to Duke, but he turned his diving far post header wide.
Australian Associated Press also contributed to this report.
