Tottenham Hotspur manager Ange Postecoglou said in a press conference today that he’d be sad to see the Republic of Korea knock his beloved Socceroos out of the Asia Cup, but he’d be thrilled for Son Heung-Min. That’s exactly what happened today. Sonny, captaining Korea, scored a gorgeous curler of a free kick in the first half of extra time to give Korea a thrilling 2-1 win over Australia. The win sends Korea to the semifinals of the competition where they will play Jordan.
Sonny was absolutely critical to Korea winning this match. He started and played all 120 minutes for the second straight game. Korea dominated possession throughout this match, but Australia went ahead late in the first half through Craig Goodwin. The Aussies put on a stalwart defensive performance to keep Korea scoreless throughout the second half, until Son earned a crucial equalizing penalty in the sixth minute of injury time that was slotted home from the spot by Hwang Hee-Chan.
And then, in the first half of extra time, Son stepped up to take a free kick at the edge of the penalty area and curled a beauty over a leaping wall and past Matty Ryan into the top corner. Here the goal, with Korea commentary because football is always better with Korean commentary.
Incredible. How did we let Harry Kane take free kicks for so long?!
The win pits Korea against Jordan, who qualified ahead of them in the group stages and whom Korea drew 2-2 in their first meeting, for a chance to play in the final. They will play this Tuesday, February 6
For Tottenham, this doesn’t really have a practical impact on when we might see Son return to Spurs — even if Korea lost this match he wouldn’t be back in London until the Brighton match on February 10, and that won’t change for the Jordan match. Should they win and progress to the final, they’ll play for the Asian Cup title on the same day Spurs play Brighton, giving him a week to come back and adjust before Spurs play Wolves on February 17.
You can watch extended highlights in the above header.