Ina thrilling 2-1 victory over already-qualified Portugal on Friday, substitute Hwang Hee-chan scored the game-winning goal in extra time to save South Korea from World Cup elimination.
At Qatar’s Education City Stadium, the Wolverhampton Wanderers attacker snuck in the game-winning goal in the 91st minute, sending the Korean supporters into raptures and causing many to cry.
At the sound of the final horn, talisman Son Heung-min, who had set up the winner, fell to the ground and curled up on the turf.
His eyes were wet with tears.
The Korean players then waited for their position in the round of 16 to be confirmed while watching Ghana vs. Uruguay on a mobile device while huddled together on the field.
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Ricardo Horta of Portugal had given his country the lead in the fifth minute, but Kim Young-gwon of Korea, who needed to win to have any hope of surviving, answered in the 27th.
Cristiano Ronaldo, the captain of Portugal, contributed to the Korean equalizer by turning his back on a corner and being struck by the ball, which set up Kim.
After recent surgery, South Korea and their captain Son, who was wearing a mask, were in need of another goal, but they didn’t really threaten Portugal until Son set up Hwang in stoppage time after a strong run.
At Education City Stadium, a cheer would break out even during the national anthems whenever Ronaldo’s face appeared on the big screen before a ball was even kicked.
“Messi, Messi” cries and jeers were also heard.
After the final whistle of South Korea’s 3-2 loss to Ghana, coach Paulo Bento, a former Portuguese international, was dismissed and forced to watch from the stands.
After barely five minutes, he witnessed his team trail as defender Pepe passed the ball to Manchester United fullback Diogo Dalot down the right side.
In front of a crowd of 44,000, Dalot easily avoided a feeble Korean challenge and drew the ball back from the byline for winger Horta to score uncontested.
Dalot and Horta were two of the six changes Portugal made from the lineup that defeated Uruguay 2-0 because they were already guaranteed a spot in the tournament.
Nevertheless, they posed a threat every time they moved forward in the opening period against a Korean defense that was missing Kim Min-jae of Napoli.
After undergoing surgery to treat a fracture around his left eye at the beginning of November, South Korea’s captain Son, a striker for Tottenham, is yet to make an impression at this World Cup.
Portugal had more control and passed the ball around more in the second half, but South Korea and an increasingly important Son posed a threat on the break.
In order to save Ronaldo’s legs, Portugal coach Fernando Santos substituted attacker Hwang for Ronaldo after 65 minutes. Hwang came through in the crucial moments.
