In the round of 16 of the Asian Cup, Saudi Arabia's match against South Korea became one of the most exciting matches of the year after Iraq and Jordan, and the performances of the goalkeepers of both sides were talked about. Coincidentally, neither Saudi goalkeeper Ahmed al-Kassar nor South Korean goalkeeper Cho Hyun-woo were originally the first choice of the manager, but the performance was extremely impressive.
After Saudi Arabia scored a goal early in the second half, there were few offensives, and South Korea transferred Hwang Hee-chan and Cho Gyu-sung two attackers one after another shortly after conceding the goal, and then moved Son Heung-min to organize the offensive, coupled with Saudi Arabia's continuous shrinkage and physical exertion at the end, so that the "Taiji Tigers" had a lot of space to attack, constantly attacking from the wings and both wingbacks, and the crosses from both sides exploded wildly, and finally in the remaining 1 minute of stoppage time, Cho Gyu-sung headed in the header to chase 1-1, bringing the game to extra time.
There was no goal in extra time, but it was thanks to Saudi goalkeeper Ahmad Qasal, who would have won in extra time or even in regulation time had it not been for his six brilliant saves. 32-year-old Ahmed Qassal has only 1At 79 meters, he is considered short among goalkeepers, and what is more interesting is that he was actually called up to the national team for the first time in 2012, but he was on the competition list four times in 12 years, and he was only a substitute, never played, and only played for the national team for the first time in this Asian Cup, and this round of 16 against South Korea became his third game for the team.
In fact, Ahmad Qasal will become Saudi Arabia's starting goalkeeper in this year's Asian Cup, which is also unexpected, Mancini called in the preliminary list of 23-year-old goalkeeper Nawaf al-Aqidi (Nawaf al-Aqidi), who played for Riyadh Victory, but he did not make the final list, Mancini pointed out that Nawaf Aqidi has no intention of returning, "He told our goalkeeper coach that if he doesn't have to play, he doesn't want to stay".
Ahmed Qasal, who has never played for Saudi Arabia, was finally selected by Mancini among three goalkeepers and served as the starting goalkeeper in the first two group games, winning both games and conceding one; Roberto Mancini qualified and played to Thailand in the final group game against first-time goalkeeper Raghed Al-Najjar in a 0-0 draw, with Ahmed Qassal retaining his starting XI heading into the round of 16.
Ahmad Kasar made a total of 6 saves in the face of the opponent's bombardment from the end of the second half to extra-time against South Korea, and his performance was quite good, including saving Lee Gang-in from cramping after his signature shot from the top of the penalty area, and his quick reaction was amazing; Only one goal scored by South Korea in regulation time is quite good.
It's a pity that he finally held the gate and survived the penalty shootout, but he was replaced by the opponent's goalkeeper as a hero.
South Korea originally used goalkeeper Kim Seung-kyu, who had 81 national team appearances, but after playing his first group game, he withdrew due to a severe cruciate ligament injury, and Cho Hyun-woo was in danger. But if you pay attention to the 2018 World Cup, you will probably remember that he showed a "god reaction" in the group stage against Germany in South Korea, saved a lot of dangerous goals, and finally won. Cho Hyun-woo started this year's group game and conceded five goals in two games, but there were also many good saves.
In the round of 16 against Saudi Arabia, he only made two saves in the 120 minutes from regular time to overtime, but in the final stage of extra time, he saved Saudi Arabia's only counterattack opportunity, which was quite crucial; In the end, in the penalty shootout, he saved Saudi Arabia's second and third goals in a row, so that the opponent's coach Mancini also "didn't see" and left the field early - although he said that he thought he had finished shooting, and in the end, South Korea was thrillingly advanced to the top 8 thanks to the wonderful shots of the four executioners and two consecutive saves by Cho Hyun-woo.
Cho Hyun-woo said in an interview after the game that he was already confident in the penalty shoot-out: "If I go to the penalty shoot-out, I am confident that I can save the shot, and I have practiced a lot for the penalty shoot-out. He pointed out that goalkeeper coach Andreas K Pke, who helped Germany win the 1990 and 1998 World Cups, was very helpful, "He also gave me a lot of confidence that I was right. ”