An evening after Japan upstaged Spain and got here high of their group, neighbors South Korea pulled off one other shock on the expense of Uruguay to beat Portugal to advance to the spherical of 16 – and the theme of the Asian surge on the World Cup pulled into one other night time. wild drama
It appeared a rout for South Korea in opposition to Portugal, which featured not solely Cristiano Ronaldo but additionally Europe’s Most Valuable Player. The process regarded hopeless when Portugal scored within the fifth minute by way of Luis Ricardo Horta.
For the subsequent 20 minutes, Portugal may have scored a number of instances, however for the sagacity of the Koreans, who defended valiantly, all the things was at stake. Perseverance was rewarded when Kim Young-gwon equalized within the twenty seventh minute.
For the subsequent 63 minutes, he needed to rating one other objective, to maintain Portugal from taking the lead – and hope that group rivals Uruguay wouldn’t add to the 2 targets he scored within the first 32 minutes in opposition to Ghana within the second match. have been accomplished inside In the stands, Korean followers, who got here in giant numbers with these ubiquitous horns perched on their heads, may very well be seen frantically checking the rating of the Portugal-Ghana sport.
For some time it regarded just like the night time won’t be Korea’s as a objective stored eluding them. But he did not quit, just like the Japanese the opposite night time in opposition to Spain. They stormed the Portuguese goalpost, and with 31 seconds of stoppage time, the desert metropolis discovered a glimmer of hope.
The objective got here from their talisman Heung-min Son’s lung-ending run till Portugal’s finish. Once contained in the Portugal put up, he slid in an inch-perfect cross to Hwang Hee-chan, who was making a shadow run. On the bottom, and standing within the dugout, and perhaps within the nation, the Koreans jumped for pleasure.
But that they had six minutes of additional time and prayed that Ghana would forestall Uruguay from scoring one other objective. For the Ghanaians of their tight tie in opposition to Uruguay, the subsequent neatest thing to a win was to disclaim Uruguay a knockout spot. They defended fiercely and stored Uruguay at bay, making it the third time the Asian Confederation had three groups within the spherical of 16 (Japan, Korea and Australia, that are thought of a part of the Asian qualification system).
His progress could be seen as a fluke. Korea performed an organized sport, compact in protection and correct in counterattack. So Japan, combative and bodily, have been taking part in fast counters deep and straight and optimizing their possibilities with laser-guided precision.
At the tip of Thursday, Japan had solely three pictures on objective in opposition to Spain, and two of them have been on objective. Similar numbers in opposition to Germany earlier as nicely – they transformed two out of 4 possibilities. Against Germany, he loved 26 % of ball possession; Just 18 in opposition to Spain. But even so, they fell behind when the goalscoring moments arrived. As his supervisor Hajime Moriyasu later stated: “We have reached world standards.”
Korea coach Paulo Bento, who watched Friday’s match from the stands after being red-carded for outburst on the referee of their earlier sport in opposition to Ghana, may solely echo his Japanese counterpart’s phrases.
Long gone are the times when Asian groups have been regarded upon condescendingly only for making up the numbers. Japan has superior 3 times to the spherical of 16 in 5 editions. Korea reached the semi-finals within the 2002 version, though they have been reportedly the beneficiaries of some horrible refereeing. But like Japan, no asterisk can be placed on their current journey to the knockouts.
It shouldn’t be misunderstood that Asian groups have benefited from taking part in in Asia. For this, a case could be made that Europe and American groups have all the time loved dwelling benefit as simply three World Cups have been performed in Asia and Africa.
Rather, it’s a second to understand the approaching of Asian soccer.
Japan and Korea each have robust leagues, and there are a number of gamers taking part in in Europe’s leagues. Japan has 451; There are 330 overseas in Korea. Some of them belong to the elite class. Like Son, who’s one half of Tottenham Hotspur’s deadly ahead line. Match-winner Hwang is Wolverhampton Wanderers’ most dependable ahead.
In his journey up the steep street to accolades, he has damaged stereotypes. Asian gamers will not be nearly twinkling ft and silky abilities, however they’re technical and bodily gamers who can match their European and American counterparts in each side of the sport. If the world hasn’t seen and accepted his vault but, he must tune on this World Cup.
Japan surpassed Germany and Spain with a mixed 5 World Cup appearances, nations which have formed the technique and philosophy of recent soccer. Korea surprised the Portugal of Cristiano Ronaldo and Bruno Fernandes. Now, it’s time for Asian soccer not solely to face with its head held excessive, but additionally to name on Europeans to equalize. In this World Cup, they’ve been greater than equal.
With inputs from TheIndianEXPRESS
