JAKARTA - Son Heung-min wants South Korea to create another miracle by beating Brazil in the last 16 of the World Cup following their historic victory over Portugal.
South Korea came close to being knocked out before Hwang Hee-chan was fielded in injury time and scored a 2-1 winner against Portugal which was confirmed to qualify on Friday in Qatar.
The result took them to the knockout stages and arranged a meeting with Brazil, one of the favorites in the tournament.
The captain Son, who played in a face mask following surgery he found last month for a crack around his left eye, said they were not ready to return from Qatar.
After making a surprise at this World Cup, South Korea wants to create another miracle.
🇰🇷@Sonny7 searching for that goal#FIFAWorldCup | #KOR pic.twitter.com/TeJkivT7yD
— FIFA World Cup (@FIFAWorldCup) December 2, 2022
"It's amazing but our tournament is not over yet," said the Tottenham Hotspur striker following an emotional victory against Portugal, citing Antara, Sunday.
"We always talk about reaching the last 16 as our goal but now we have to try to go beyond it," Son, who shed tears of happiness on South Korean media in Doha.
"I hope we can create another miracle," he added, after helping Hwang by running as hard as he could before launching a pass past the Portugal defender's feet.
The public in South Korea began to imagine their national team could repeat the success of hosting the 2002 World Cup and shocked the world by reaching the semifinals.
The current South Korean coach Sergio Costa, who took over from the sidelines during the Group H match against Portugal as coach Paulo Bento was sanctioned, did not want to make a comparison with the 2002 feat.
"I can't compare because I watched the 2002 World Cup on television and I didn't know them," said Costa, who puzzles victory over Portugal, who in fact is his home country, when his boss was absent.
"I saw several matches in the past but I couldn't make a comparison because I didn't know the Korean team at the time.
"I can tell you who you are now, this is a very honest bit.
"It became something we are very proud of, we saw the players with strong personalities and they deserved what they had achieved," he added.
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