| South Korea's midfielder Hwang Hee-chan celebrates at the end of the Qatar 2022 World Cup Group H football match between South Korea and Portugal at the Education City Stadium in Al-Rayyan, west of Doha, Dec. 2. Korea Times photo by Choi Won-suk |
After sitting out South Korea's first two matches of the FIFA World Cup in Qatar with a hamstring injury, midfielder Hwang Hee-chan was itching to get back on the pitch ― so much so that he didn't care if he reaggravated his injury, as long as he could help the team.
And Hwang helped the Taegeuk Warriors in the best way imaginable on Friday, scoring the winning goal in a 2-1 shock win over world No. 9 Portugal in the final Group H match at Education City Stadium in Al Rayyan, west of Doha.
The win, combined with a 2-0 win by Uruguay over Ghana, sent South Korea into the knockout round in a tiebreaker.
Hwang said afterward he was happy to have made up for the lost time.
| South Korea's Hwang Hee-Chan is tackeled by Portugal's Diogo Dalot compete for the ball during the World Cup group H soccer match between South Korea and Portugal, at the Education City Stadium in Al Rayyan , Qatar, Dec. 2. Sout Korea beat Portugal 2-1. Korea Times photo by Choi Won-Suk |
"I felt terrible for my teammates because I wasn't able to play the first two matches. And I was also grateful that the guys had played so hard," Hwang said. "I was happy to be a part of this proud moment with the guys."
Hwang, who came off the bench in the 66th minute, said he was inspired by encouraging words from his teammates, including captain Son Heung-min.
"Before the match, Heung-min told me, 'You're going to score one for us. I believe in you,'" Hwang said. "And other guys said they needed me to come through with a goal. That gave me so much confidence."
It was Son who assisted on the winner, as he dribbled deep into the zone, drew three defenders on himself, and found just enough space to get the ball through to Hwang.
"When Heung-min was coming own, I thought for sure the ball was coming my way," Hwang said. "He gave me such a perfect pass that it put me in a position to score."
| South Korea's Hwang Hee-chan celebrates after scoing the goal during the World Cup group H soccer match between South Korea and Portugal, at the Education City Stadium in Al Rayyan , Qatar, Dec. 2. Sout Korea beat Portugal 2-1. Korea Times photo by Choi Won-suk |
Hwang said he felt a twinge in his injured hamstring when he entered the pitch and he wasn't sure if he could keep up with Son on that fast break.
"I was in no shape to play the first match. I felt like I could have played the second game but the medical staff held me back out of precaution. And fortunately, I was able to recover in time for this match. There were still some risks but I didn't really care what happened to my body because this was our last group match."
Hwang has three Wolverhampton Wanderers teammates on Portugal, and said he exchanged shirts with two of them, goalkeeper Jose Sa and midfielder Ruben Neves.
"I just scored my first World Cup goal and I don't have that uniform," Hwang said with a smile. "But my club teammates congratulated me wholeheartedly, so I was pretty happy about that."
As for the round of 16, Hwang said, "Our objective is to win and give our people something to cheer about. We're not just happy to be here. We want to play well and win for our fans." (Yonhap)