South Korea waited for the moment that Son Heung-Min will join them for this Asian Cup campaign.
With the best Asian player today, South Korea thought that they will have an easy path for the first title since 1960. After today’s match, maybe their minds will change a bit.
The Taegeok Warriors were favorites to win against Bahrain. They controlled the field, but faced both a strong Bahraini defensive line and quick attacks. At the first half, the Koran dominance was converted to an advantage, as Hwang Hee-Chan scored the first goal.
Unfortunately for them, Bahrain made one lethal attack that changed everything. An equalizer by Mohamed Al-Rohaimi tied the game. At this moment, South Korea’s Portuguese manager , Paulo Bento, looked helpless, as he didn't really find a solution for his team.
Hwang Hee-Chan, scored the first goal but his team failed to find the net again before extra time (Asian Football Confederation (AFC))
Bento took another look to his bench and found the answer. In the 89th minute he subbed in Lee Seung-Woo, who brought a more offensive style to the Korean team. During extra time, Bento made another important substitution, as Kim Jin-Su entered.
Ten minutes later, it finally happened. After a long extra time, Kim Jin-Su scored the winning goal for South Korea with a perfect header. Bahrain couldn't do nothing from that moment on, it was always going to be a win for South Korea.
Kim Jin-Su, the late substitue scored a winning goal (Asian Football Confederation (AFC))
South Korea reached the position they know well – the Asian Cup quarter finals. It's the 7th consecutive Asian Cup that South Korea is reaching this stage and they usually qualify easily to the final four. South Korea and Bento will need to take their remarks from this match if they want to show their strength against Qatar.