South Korea finished the 2022 Qatar Olympics in the round of 16
Korea ended their 2022 World Cup journey in Qatar in the round of 16.
The Korea national football team lost 1-4 in the round of 16 match against Brazil at Stadium 974 in Doha, Qatar on the 6th at 4:00 am (Korean time).
The Korean national team, who continued a difficult game against strong championship candidates Brazil, conceded four goals in the first half alone, making up one goal in the second half to assuage the frustration of progressing to the quarter-finals.
Although they failed to advance to the quarterfinals, Korea left a strong impression by managing to reach the round of 16 for the third time in history.
Son Heung-min suffered an orbital fracture and wore a mask throughout the game.
“The miracle of Doha” and the defeat of the powers
This World Cup has been a series of surprises. In the group stage, the traditionally strong players lost one after the other against teams classified as relatively weak.
Japan and Australia, which belong to the Asian Football Confederation (AFC), as well as Korea, accomplished the feat of progressing to the round of 16 side by side.
Notably, Korea played a tough match due to injuries to key players, but showed their backs and eventually progressed to the round of 16 for the first time in 12 years.
Cho Kyu-seong scored two headers in 3 minutes against Ghana.
Initially, Korea was placed in Group H, which had strong players such as Portugal, Uruguay and Ghana.
In the case of the match against Ghana, the score was slow at 1-0 in the first half, but Cho Kyu-seong (Jeonbuk) equalized with a series of headers. It was the country’s first “multi-goals in a match” record.
Kim Young-kwon has been called the “fixer” after he recovered from his defeat in the match against Portugal.
In the final group stage match against Portugal, a win was essential to advance to the round of 16. Korea leveled the score at 1-1 in the first half thanks to the performance of Kim Young-kwon (Ulsan), but failed to score an extra point.
However, finally, in the 46th minute of the second half, captain Son Heung-min (Tottenham) ran into the penalty area and created a golden chance, and Hwang Hee-chan (Wolverhampton) scored a goal against strong Portugal.
Ultimately, Korea took a ticket to the round of 16 ahead of Uruguay by a narrow margin due to goal tally.
Hwang Hee-chan was named FIFA’s “Budweiser Player of the Match” for his comeback goal against Portugal.
‘Eternal Ace’ and anticipation of the generational change
As several players, including Son Heung-min, received good reviews, expectations for the future World Cup have increased.
Son Heung-min attended the match wearing a visor throughout the program due to an orbital fracture but was criticized for poor performances in the early stages of the group stage.
However, BBC Sports selected Son Heung-min as their “Player of the Match (Best Player)” in the Portugal match after the Uruguay match. Hwang Hee-chan was selected as the official ‘Player of the Match’ by the InternationalFootball Federation (FIFA).
Baek Seung-ho scored his debut World Cup goal in the round of 16 against Brazil.
Baek Seung-ho (Jeonbuk) scored his first goal on his World Cup debut 11 minutes after being replaced by Hwang In-beom in the 20th minute of the second half in the Round of 16 match against Brazil.
Minjae Kim (Napoli), nicknamed the “monstrous defender”, and Kangin Lee (Mallorca), who participated as the youngest member of the national team and registered an assist at an important moment, are also highly anticipated by football fans.
