Jo Hyun-woo’s good show
The 2023 Asian Football Confederation (AFC) Asian Cup Round of 16 match between Korea and Saudi Arabia held at Al Rayyan Education City Stadium in Qatar on the 30th (local time). Korea’s Cho Hyun-woo clenches his fists as he blocks Saudi Arabia’s shot.
Goalkeeper Cho Hyun-woo (Ulsan), who reliably guarded the goal in the quarterfinals against Australia in the Asian Football Confederation (AFC) Asian Cup, said he did not remember the save scenes, but looked back and said, “My body responded.”
The Korean national soccer team, led by coach Jurgen Klinsmann, advanced to the semifinals by defeating Australia 2-1 in overtime in the quarterfinals of the 2023 AFC Asian Cup held at Al Janoub Stadium in Al Wakrah, Qatar on the 3rd (Korean time).
The best recipient was ‘Ace’ Son Heung-min (Tottenham), who earned a penalty kick by breaking through to turn the tide of extra time in the second half when the team was down 0-1 and were losing, and even scored with a free kick in overtime.
However, Cho Hyun-woo also contributed to the thrilling comeback victory by hitting away several of Australia’s sharp shots.
In particular, the moment when he neutralized Australia’s attack by blocking all of Martin Boyle’s consecutive shots in the early part of the second half stood out.
Boyle connected with a cross from the left side with a powerful header, but Jo Hyun-woo quickly struck it away. Boyle kicked the ball hard again, but this was also blocked by Jo Hyun-woo’s save.
Jo Hyun-woo met with reporters after the game and said, “I expected that the players might give (the opponent) a perfect opportunity because they were tired,” and added, “I don’t remember, but my body reacted. I was desperate, so I made a save.”
He added, “I am proud that we scored and won because we made a good save. We will prepare well for the semifinals.”
Cho Hyun-woo, who showed a great save in the final group match against Germany at the 2018 Russia World Cup, commented on the assessment that he is ‘strong in big games’ and said, “I am strong by nature. I enjoy every game and do my best.”
It may be unsettling that Kim Min-jae (Bayern Munich), a reliable center back who plays the last line of defense as a goalkeeper, will not be able to play in the semifinals against Jordan due to accumulated warnings.
However, Jo Hyun-woo believes that even if Kim Min-jae is absent, his colleagues will sufficiently fill the void.
Jo Hyun-woo said, “It’s a pity that Minjae can’t play with us (in the semifinals). But I’m not worried because we have great players. Minjae will come back only if we win the semifinals. We’ll work things out slowly, one by one.”
He also added that he is always confident in the penalty shootout. In the penalty shootout in the round of 16 against Saudi Arabia, Cho Hyun-woo blocked all shots from the opponent’s third and fourth kickers, leading the team to advance to the quarterfinals.
Jo Hyun-woo emphasized, “We went to overtime today, and I was confident that I would stop it if it went to a penalty shootout. Although it ended before that, I was confident that I would stop it in a penalty shootout as well.” 19가이드03