DOHA — Son Heung-min wants his South Korea side to pull off “another miracle” and beat Brazil on Monday in the World Cup last 16 after their last-gasp heroics against Portugal.
The Koreans’ tournament looked to be over until substitute Hwang Hee-chan popped up in injury time to score the winner in a 2-1 victory over already qualified Portugal Friday. That propelled them into the knockout rounds and a daunting date with Brazil, one of the pre-tournament favourites.
But skipper Son, who has been playing in a mask following surgery last month for a fracture around his left eye, said they are not ready to go home just yet.
After what has been a tournament of surprises, the Koreans now want to pull off another one.
“This is great but our tournament is not over,” Spurs attacker Son said following the emotions of the dramatic win over Portugal.
“We’ve always talked about reaching the round of 16 as our objective but we should now try to go beyond that,” Son, who shed tears of joy, told Korean media in Doha.
“I hope we can script another miracle,” he added according to AFP, having set up Hwang with a searing run and threaded pass through the legs of a Portuguese defender.
Current assistant coach Sergio Costa, who took charge from the sidelines for the Group H clash with Portugal because coach Paulo Bento was suspended, resisted such talk. “I cannot compare because I watched the World Cup in 2002 on TV and didn’t know them personally,” said Costa, having masterminded the win over his native Portugal in his boss’s absence.
“I’ve seen a few games from the past but I cannot make a comparison because I didn’t know the Korean team back then.
“I can tell you what it is now — it’s a team that is very honest.
“That is something that we are very proud of, we see those players with a strong personality and they deserve what we have accomplished,” he added.
Elsewhere, World Cup favourites Brazil is racing to overcome injuries to key players as they prepare for their last-16 match against South Korea on Monday, after a heavily changed side lost 1-0 to Cameroon Friday night.
Neymar was back training, doing drills with the ball and taking shots on goal and they have only one pure full back available after left back Alex Telles suffered a knee injury in the Cameroon game.
“The physical demand is ever increasing, the time is short, it’s a cumulative effect of games and sometimes you don’t have the ideal recovery time on your hands,” coach Tite told a news conference according to Reuters.
“I don’t really know what to say other than that, mentally, the Cup is very demanding. It drains you. The intensity of the matches, the preparation – they are components of analysis that we have to delve into deeper, but they are all considerable.”
If Neymar is still out, Real Madrid prodigy Rodrygo is likely to be Tite’s first option, as the pairing of Fred and his Manchester United team mate Casemiro in the midfield that Tite used against Switzerland was less than convincing.
Alex Telles and Gabriel Jesus injured their right knees as Brazil’s reserve squad lost to Cameroon in its last group game. Brazil had already reached the round of 16.
Right back Danilo, who also missed Brazil’s last two matches because of an ankle injury, trained normally with the rest of the group Saturday and was expected to be available for the match against South Korea. It’s not clear if Alex Sandro will be able to play. If not, Tite will have to improvise at left back.
Brazil was eliminated by Belgium in the quarterfinals in Russia. The team is trying to win its first World Cup title in two decades.
Monday Dec. 5 fixtures
Japan vs Croatia 5 pm CLT
Brazil vs South Korea 9 pm CLT
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