AFC Asian Cup: Son Heung-min says ‘no excuses’ in South Korea trophy quest after they sneak past Australia to reach semis
- Spurs forward shrugs off talk of fatigue after his extra-time winner sent his team into the last four
- ‘I don’t want to leave it so late all the time,’ coach Jurgen Klinsmann says after the Koreans needed a 96th-minute equaliser to stay alive
Son Heung-min said South Korea have “no excuses” not to win the Asian Cup after he scored an extra-time winner to beat Australia 2-1 on Friday and set up a semi-final against Jordan.
It was another great escape for the Koreans, who needed a 96th-minute penalty from Hwang Hee-chan to stay alive after Australia took the lead in the first half through Craig Goodwin.
Tottenham’s Son, Asia’s best player and South Korea’s skipper, had yet to fully make his mark at the tournament in Qatar but he delivered when it counted.
First he won a penalty when Lewis Miller brought him down in injury time at the end of normal time, then he stepped up to curl home a sublime free-kick from the edge of the box in the 104th minute.
South Korea have not won the Asian Cup in 64 years and Son said he would accept nothing less than the title.
