Son Heung-min's South Korea Knock Saudi Arabia Out of AFC Asian Cup After 99th-Minute Equalizer

Son Heung-min captained South Korea to a win over Saudi Arabia at the Asian Cup. South Korea scored a 99th-minute equalizer before winning a penalty shootout.
Son Heung-min's South Korea Knock Saudi Arabia Out of AFC Asian Cup After 99th-Minute Equalizer
Son Heung-min's South Korea Knock Saudi Arabia Out of AFC Asian Cup After 99th-Minute Equalizer /

Son Heung-min captained South Korea to a dramatic victory over Saudi Arabia in the round of 16 at the AFC Asian Cup on Tuesday.

South Korea eventually prevailed via a penalty shootout but Son and Co had been losing 1-0 until the 99th minute.

Abdullah Radif fired Saudi Arabia in front with a sharp finish 32 seconds after coming on as a half-time substitute.

But Cho Gue-sung headed in an equalizer for Jurgen Klinsmann's side deep into added time.

Cho then found the net again in the shootout, which South Korea won 4-2 after Son, Kim Young-gwon and Hwang Hee-chan also hit the target from 12 yards.

South Korea keeper Jo Hyeon-woo saved penalties from Abdulrahman Ghareeb and Sami Al-Najei, much to the disappointment of the majority of the crowd at Qatar's Education City Stadium.

Highlights: Saudi Arabia 1-1 South Korea (2-4 on penalties)

Saudi Arabia manager Roberto Mancini did not watch the shootout in its entirety.

After witnessing Al-Najei fail from 12 yards, Mancini was seen walking back to the locker rooms - even though his team still had a slim chance of winning at that point.

South Korea will now face Australia in the quarter-finals on Friday.

Son will therefore be unavailable to play for Tottenham against Everton on Saturday.

He is also likely to miss Tottenham's home game with Brighton on February 10 if South Korea progress beyond the last eight.

South Korea captain Son Heung-min pictured during the 2023 AFC Asian Cup in Qatar
Son Heung-min has played every minute of South Korea's AFC Asian Cup campaign so far :: IMAGO/Sebastian Frej

Published
Robert Summerscales
ROBERT SUMMERSCALES

Robert Summerscales first joined the Sports Illustrated family in February 2022 when he launched FanNation Futbol under the SI.com banner. Rob is a British journalist who previously spent two years on the sports desk at the Daily Mail in London, having earlier served as editor of CaughtOffside.com. He has been to the last two FIFA Men's World Cups, in Russia and Qatar, and is looking forward to completing his hat-trick in North America in 2026.