DOHA – Jo Hyeon-woo may be South Korea’s second-choice goalkeeper, but he was their hero as the Taegeuk Warriors beat Saudi Arabia 4-2 on penalties on Jan 30 to set up an Asian Cup quarter-final with Australia.

Jo stepped up earlier in the tournament when regular No. 1 Kim Seung-gyu was injured in training, and the back-up proved he was up to the job after a nail-biting last-16 match in Al Rayyan ended 1-1.

He said that “belief” was the key to stopping spot kicks from Sami Al Naji and Abdulrahman Ghareeb in the shoot-out, before Hwang Hee-chan converted the decisive penalty for Jurgen Klinsmann’s side.

“The coach told us to believe in the team and I think that’s what really paid off. We gave everything on the pitch and, when it came to a shoot-out, I had confidence I could make saves,” said Jo.

South Korea came back from the dead to keep their hopes of winning the Asian Cup for the first time in 64 years alive.

Cho Gue-sung scored a 99th-minute equaliser to force extra time, after Abdullah Radif had opened the scoring for the Saudis 33 seconds after coming on as a half-time substitute.

Klinsmann’s side had been heavily criticised after coming through the group stage in second place behind Bahrain, following draws with Jordan and Malaysia. However, Jo said that the players have vowed to “forget about the past”.

“We had belief that if we didn’t concede a goal, we would score, because we have quality attacking players,” he said.

Klinsmann, meanwhile, said that the win will give the team “an enormous amount of energy”.

“It gives the team even more spirit. This is a group of players that I really enjoy working with because they have a lot of heart,” the German added.

Saudi Pro League sides have shelled out to lure big-name players while Saudi Arabia is set to host the 2034 World Cup, all part of a broader move into global sport.

But they are now out of the Asian Cup after a tense encounter in front of over 40,000 fans at Education City Stadium.

Saudi coach Roberto Mancini disappeared down the tunnel before Hwang took the final penalty, but according to the Italian, it was not intentional.

“I apologise, I thought it was finished,” he said of his early exit.

“I didn’t want to disrespect anyone. I want to say thank you my players for what they did. They are improving a lot.”

But Saudi Football Federation president Yasser Al Misehal made clear his unhappiness in an interview with Saudi broadcaster SSC, saying that it was “completely unacceptable”.

“He has the right to explain his point of view and then we will decide the appropriate action,” he said.

Former Italy coach Mancini, who led the Azzurri to the European Championship title in 2021, took over as Saudi Arabia coach in August but he was unable to lead them to a first Asian Cup since 1996.

“In football you can lose, you can win. We were playing against a very strong team and we played very well. We lost on a penalty shoot-out. Penalties are a lottery,” he added. AFP, REUTERS