Australia will face South Korea for the third time in the last four Asia Cup knockout stages. In the round of sixteen, the Socceroos defeated Indonesia 4-0 with great ease, and the Koreans tied Saudi Arabia 1-1 in stoppage time before winning 4-2 on penalties.
Preview (Australia vs. South Korea)
The Australians managed to survive the first half of the match with some compact, incisive and determined defending. In their previous meeting, they flourished in the attacking third. They scored four goals against Indonesia, which was the maximum they could muster during the group stage. The second-most in an Asian Cup knockout match since they thrashed Uzbekistan 6-0 in the semi-finals in 2011. The team led by Graham Arnold has now gone eight games without a loss in all competitions. They have outscored their rivals 20-1 during that time.
In his two spells as the men’s national team coach, Arnold won two A-League titles as a manager. He has only lost seven games in his 50 games as the Socceroos boss. Their round of 16 matchup was his 50th match overall. Australia has only allowed three goals in total in all of their knockout games since 2011. They have also never given up more than one goal in a single game after the group stage. Since winning a thrilling 2-1 victory over South Korea in the 2015 Asian Cup final on home soil in extra time. It was the only occasion they have ever lifted this trophy—they have not defeated the Koreans.
Throughout the final 16, a tenacious and focused South Korean team demonstrated incredible fortitude by scoring in the ninth minute of stoppage time and then remaining composed when taking the penalty. Despite facing opposition from ardent Saudi Arabian supporters, Jurgen Klinsmann’s men ultimately prevailed as the Koreans fired eight shots on goal and eventually broke through. The Taegeuk Warriors have only lost once at this level of the game—1-0 against the eventual champions Qatar four years ago—so this Friday will mark their second consecutive trip to the quarterfinals of this competition.
Team News
After suffering a groin strain in the round of 16, Gethin Jones was sent to the hospital for scans but is now cleared to play in Australia’s quarterfinal match. Thomas Deng and Lewis Miller will likely recover from their ailments. Mitchell Duke entered the game as a substitute after missing their previous match due to a hamstring injury. In their knockout victory this week, Arnold made two changes to his starting lineup. Jones and Bruno Fornaroli came in for Kusini Yengi and Nathaniel Atkinson. In the match against the Indonesians, Elkan Baggott’s own goal gave the Socceroos the lead. Martin Boyle scored his second goal of the tournament, Craig Goodwin scored their third goal, and Harry Souttar set up the fourth.
Against the Saudis, Klinsmann made just one alteration to the Korean starting lineup: Jung Seung-hyun took Cho Gue-sung’s position. After making his 121st appearance for the Asian Tigers in their most recent match, Son Heung-min can tie Yoo Sang-chul for the sixth-most caps ever on Friday. Jeong Woo-yeong currently has 20 caps, while Kim Jin-su has 70. Late in their round of 16 match, Gue-sung pulled one back for South Korea, Jo Hyeon-woo saved two penalties for Saudi Arabia, and Hwang Hee-chan scored the winning goal from a distance of twelve yards.
Australia 1-1 South Korea
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