"We scored the equalizer very late and tried to come back, creating many chances, so we deserved to get through to the round of 16 because the players tried very hard," coach Jurgen Klinsmann said at a press conference after South Korea's victory over Saudi Arabia in the penalty shootout in the round of 16 of the Asian Cup on the evening of January 30 (Vietnam time).
The Korean team let Saudi Arabia open the scoring in the first minute of the second half, but had to wait until the 90+9 minute of injury time to equalize 1-1.
Striker Cho Gue Sung's late goal helped South Korea drag the match into a penalty shootout, then won 4-2 in a nerve-wracking shootout thanks to goalkeeper Jo Hyeon Woo's excellent saves from two penalties.
Coach Jurgen Klinsmann felt tense on the sidelines as the South Korean team had to wait until extra time to equalize against Saudi Arabia (Photo: Getty).
Speaking about his team's thrilling victory, coach Klinsmann said: "We are a team of players with a professional mentality, and for those who say why don't you play Japan, we are paying the price for that with the schedule and the short break between the two matches. We need a longer break."
The German strategist also revealed the secret to winning against Saudi Arabia: "We knew it would be a very difficult match against Saudi Arabia because they are very good.
I feel so happy right now. We should have scored more goals because we created a lot of chances. But the other team had just as many chances.
We were prepared for the penalties and Jo Hyeon Woo made two fantastic saves. We were looking forward to tonight's game, we played against a very strong team and now we are looking forward to the quarter-finals."
Regarding the match against Australia in the quarter-finals of the Asian Cup on February 3, coach Klinsmann affirmed: "All matches are difficult and the winning rate is 50%, but we are ready to compete and want to enjoy this tournament."
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