Football World Cup: South Korea furioso after the final in the World Cup round of 16

After the final, Heung-Min Son and Co.

Football World Cup: South Korea furioso after the final in the World Cup round of 16

After the final, Heung-Min Son and Co. stormed wildly to the South Korean fans and threw themselves on the ground in ecstasy. Then they let themselves be celebrated on a long lap of honour.

Before that, they had stayed in the center circle for almost endless minutes and stared spellbound at the supervisors' cell phones before the next Asian sensation at the World Cup in Qatar was perfect. Just one day after the Japanese coup in the heart-stopping final with Germany, South Korea also reached the World Cup round of 16 in a similarly dramatic scenario by beating the already qualified favorites Portugal 2-1 (1-1).

"I'm very proud. I want to thank all the fans and I'm glad we were able to give them this gift," said match winner Hee-Chan Hwang. The former professional at Hamburger SV and RB Leipzig was still injured in the first two games, now he made his country's only third round of 16 entry in the eleventh World Cup participation perfect with his joker goal in added time (90.2). "I really wanted to help in the last game. It was the best way to give something back to the team," Hwang emphasized, and Mainz's Jae-Sung Lee said enthusiastically: "Now we just want to have fun and enjoy it."

South Korea dreams of World Cup fairy tales like 2002

Superstar Cristiano Ronaldo didn't have fun, after a poor performance he had to wait for Eusebio's goal record and watched in amazement from the bench after his substitution. Because in injury time, the events had rolled over. After a counterattack, Hwang scored the almost impossible winning goal for the Asians after a pass by Son, then the big tremors began. Because the parallel game between Uruguay and Ghana (2-0) was not over yet.

"It wasn't up to us, it was very difficult," said Sergio Costa, describing the anxious minutes. The assistant coach had replaced his boss Paulo Bento after he was suspended due to the red card following the Ghana game. "We got the result we deserved. Maybe not in this game, but we convinced in every game," added Costa.

And suddenly South Korea is dreaming of a similar World Cup fairy tale as in 2002. At that time, the Taeguk Warriors had stormed into the semi-finals at the home World Cup under Guus Hiddink before Michael Ballack put an end to the winning streak with his 1-0 winning goal for Germany. "I can't compare it. I watched the 2002 World Cup on TV. I don't know enough about the 2002 team. All I can say is that today's team is very well organized with high-quality players. We're very proud of the team. They have a strong personality," Costa said.

Incidentally, in 2002 the Koreans also defeated Portugal at the end of the group stage. It was also the last international match for Paulo Bento in the Portuguese jersey. He then coached his home country with moderate success between 2010 and 2014 before being replaced by Fernando Santos. "We have a good relationship. I hugged him," said Santos, who has coached Ronaldo's team for ten years.

Ronaldo and Co. upset: "It will be a lesson for us."

And after the first bankruptcy at this World Cup, Santos tried to clear up possible discrepancies around Ronaldo. Because CR7 was not exactly in the best of moods when he stomped off the field, but again he failed to score. This puts him one goal behind his legendary compatriot Eusebio (9) in the World Cup record.

It was an evening to forget. The five-time world footballer did nothing in front of the goal and then he was not entirely uninvolved in the first goal conceded by Young-Gwon Kim (27th). From a corner, the superstar looked unfortunate as the ball bounced off his back for Kim, who finally had to shoot in. Ronaldo also had to hear "Messi" shouts from the South Korean fans.

However, the group victory was not in danger for Ronaldo and Co., which means that the Portuguese will take the supposedly easier route in the knockout phase. Santos was nonetheless annoyed by the defeat, especially as his team had taken the lead in the fifth minute through Ricardo Horta in front of 44,097 spectators. "That will teach us a lesson."

Football World Cup Organizing Committee World Cup Schedule Information on Portugal's national team South Korean Football Association on Twitter South Korean Football Association

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