South Korea was on search for their 3rd Asian Cup title as they faced off with Australia on January 31 but goals from Massimo Luongo and James Troisi was enough for Australia to rise and claim their first Asian Cup trophy.
The match was a very dramatic one as Australia took the lead in the first half through Luongo and it seemed like it was going to be enough for the home team to snatch the victory but a late goal from Heung-Min Son at the 91st minute forced the match to continue rolling into extra time.
South Korea was on search for their 3rd Asian Cup title as they faced off with Australia on January 31 but goals from Massimo Luongo and James Troisi was enough for Australia to rise and claim their first Asian Cup trophy.
The match was a very dramatic one as Australia took the lead in the first half through Luongo and it seemed like it was going to be enough for the home team to snatch the victory but a late goal from Heung-Min Son at the 91st minute forced the match to continue rolling into extra time.
James Troisi entered the pitch at the 71st minute and it didn’t take long for the substitute player to make an impact in the game as it was his goal which made the difference as he scored the winning goal in extra time which allowed Australia on securing the victory and their first ever Asian Cup silverware.
South Korea’s manager UliStielike was not happy to see his team losing to Australia in the finals but the German believes that even though his squad did not win the trophy, they are still the winners as the performance of his players was impressive according to Stielike as he took the chance to say a few things after the match reached its’ end.
UliStielike told reporters: “I don’t agree that we’re not champions. I agree we don’t have the cup.
But with the way we played today, we won many hearts. All the messages I have received, everyone is giving a big hand to the players. It could have gone either way. I think the best thing at the end of this game would have been a draw and both teams to take two years each of the Cup.”
The Asian team did perform better than their rivals as South Korea had the ball under their control for the majority of the time and consistently threatened the defence of their opponents but it wasn’t enough as it was Australia who came out on top with the victory.