AFC Asian Cup: Saudi Arabia boss Mancini sorry for walking off as South Korea won penalty shoot-out
- Saudi Arabia manager Roberto Mancini says he left before Hwang Hee-chan’s spot kick because he thought game was already over
- Italian ‘didn’t want to disrespect anyone’ as team lost 4-2 and crashed out in the last 16
Roberto Mancini said he “didn’t want to disrespect anyone” by disappearing down the tunnel before South Korea took the penalty that eliminated his Saudi Arabia team from the Asian Cup.
Mancini walked back to the dressing room at Doha’s Education City Stadium after Abdulrahman Ghareeb missed a second Saudi penalty and handed match point to South Korea.
Wolverhampton Wanderers forward Hwang Hee-chan tucked it away to send the Koreans into a quarter-final against Australia, dumping Mancini’s side out at the last 16.
“I apologise, I thought it was finished,” the Italian said of his early exit.
“I didn’t want to disrespect anyone,” added Mancini, who won the European Championship with Italy in 2021. “I want to say thank you to all my players for what they did. They are improving a lot.”
Second-choice goalkeeper Jo Hyeon-woo was the hero for South Korea in the shoot-out, also saving from Sami Al-Najei to give his team a 4-2 win on penalties, after a 1-1 draw at the end of extra time.
