On the 31st of January, the South Korean national football team beat Saudi Arabia 4-2 on penalty shootouts, making it to the quarterfinals at the Asian Football Confederation (AFC) Asian Cup in Qatar.

Korean goalkeeper Jo Hyeon-woo blocked two of the opponents’ penalty kicks, while the first four Korean shooters’ penalty kicks all made it through the opponents’ net.

This recent match had been the longest one for both parties so far during the Asian Cup, going on even after 30 minutes of extra time had been given.

The long length of the match shows how difficult it was to determine a winner among the two strongest teams competing in the Asian Cup.

Korean netizens were especially nervous prior to this match due to the fact that Saudi Arabia had beaten the previous World Cup champion, Argentina, on the 22nd of November in 2022.

Regardless of this tumult, the match had to start, and many South Koreans stayed up to support their players, despite the match having taken place at 01:00 KST.

The Saudi Arabian national football team received a head start with Abdullah Radif from Saudi Arabia gaining the lead less than a minute into the second half.

This head start lasted for the rest of the game, until Korean substitute Cho Gue-sung managed to bring the team another opportunity of extra time by scoring to set the score to 1-1.

Despite the tiring length of time , the players from each team did not disappoint their home country and continued to play at their maximum capacity until the extra time was over.

However, a winner was yet to be found.

The match soon proceeded to penalty shootouts, the final and most efficient way to find a winner for a football match after 120 minutes of competition to win.

During the penalty shootouts, Jo Hyeon-woo played the role of the hero, as he saved two out of four of the opponents’ penalty kicks.

Meanwhile, the South Korean shooters’ four penalty kicks all made it through, finally allowing the country to take the win home.

Fans, both on-site and remotely supporting at home, cheered out in glory and genuine pride.

South Korea’s next step in the Asian Cup journey will be a match against Australia in the quarterfinals.

South Korea had previously lost to Australia 2-1 during extra time in 2015.

Hopefully, this match will be an opportunity for South Korea’s team to prove their definite improvement from past years.

Meanwhile, the South Korean national football team is considered to be one of the teams with the most potential to win the Asian Cup this year.

Although the latest match has not been the easiest match, South Korea proved its abilities.

Whether the team will be able to achieve the final victory will remain a question until the following matches.

Kate Han

Grade 10

Seoul Foreign School