The national South Korean soccer team has made it to the round of 16 at the 2022 World Cup for the first time in twelve years!
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What a fantastic moment for South Koreans. The nation's soccer team had a minimal chance of beating the strong Portugal soccer team and even a slimmer chance of beating the odds and advancing to the round of 16!
It was an amazing moment for the country for sure, and there definitely were three songs played all over the country when the victory was achieved.
It was especially meaningful as BTS's Jungkook performed the official World Cup theme song "Dreamers" in the opening ceremony of the 2022 FIFA World Cup, and the lyrics really aligned with South Korea's soccer team. We dreamt, we believed, and we achieved. With that being said, Korea has a deep history in the world cup, and to pay tribute to the unbelievable goal, we're going to take a look at some of the most legendary moments in Korean soccer history -- especially in the FIFA World Cup. Let's take a look below!
2002 South Korea/Japan World Cup - Round of 16 vs. Italy (Ahn Jung Hwan's Golden Goal)
Before this game, no one had thought The Reds would defeat the extremely strong Italian team. In fact, Korea was trailing for the majority of the game. That was until the Korean team scored a miraculous equalizer in the last minutes of the second half. To top it off, Ahn Jung Hwan scored a majestic header as the golden goal in overtime to secure themselves in the quarterfinals for the first time in history. The country was going absolutely NUTS!
2002 South Korea/Japan World Cup - Group Stage vs. Portugal (Park Ji Sung's Left-Foot Goal)
Korea was on its way to making history for the first time - they were only one game away from securing their spots for the round of 16 for the first time in the nation's history. However, it wasn't an easy path, with the opponent being a strong nation - Portugal. It was a difficult match throughout the entire match, but soccer superstar Park Ji-sung was able to find a goal late in the second half, which confirmed their spot in the round of 16!
2002 South Korea/Japan World Cup - Group Stages vs. USA (Ahn Jung-Hwan's Equalizer Goal)
The two countries were experiencing some tension due to a controversial call from the 2002 Winter Salt Lake City Olympics earlier in the year, so the beef was real. While the USA scored first, Korea did not allow that to get them down, as Ahn Jung-hwan was able to score the equalizer through a heading goal! And if you were watching the world cup during this time, you already know the legendary ceremony that got the entire country crazy!
2006 Germany World Cup - Group Stages vs. France (Park Ji-sung's Miraculous Equalizer)
If you know anything about soccer, France is a king in soccer, and we saw this in play when France was pretty much dominating throughout this entire game. After Korea secured a successful win vs. Togo, France was definitely too big of an opponent. That, however, did not stop the mighty South Korean team from fighting to their very best. Trailing 1-0 for the majority of the game, the Korean team saw a late second-half opportunity in which Park Ji-sung delivered a dramatic equalizer that ultimately led to a tie!
2010 South Africa World Cup - Group Stages vs. Nigeria (Park Joo-young's Free Kick Goal)
After suffering a 4-1 loss from world cup monsters Argentina, South Korea's morale was not at its high. It was especially low for Park Joo-young, who scored an own goal in the previous match. In playing the last round to earn a ticket to the round of 16 for the first time since 2002 and for the first time in a non-home World Cup, Park Joo-young earned an opportunity to redeem himself when a free kick was awarded to the South Korean team in the second half. The result? Park Joo-young perfectly scored and was able to erase his shame from his own goal from the previous match! In the end, the game ended in a tie, and Korea was able to make history by advancing to the round of 16 for the first time in eight years and for the first time outside of Korea!
2018 Russia World Cup - Group Stages vs. Germany (Kim Young-Kwon's Dramatic Stoppage Time Goal)
Korea was coming off two losses from this world cup, and the entire country was devastated and had little to no hope as the third game's opponent was no other than defending champion Germany. However, the Taeguk Warriors did not give up. They played hard for 90 minutes. Germany's attacks were sharp, but Korea's defense stood strong. The goal line would just not open up for the Germans. Even a tie would have been impressive for Korea, but an opportunity came across in stoppage time when Kim Young-Kwon was met with the ball in front of the goal. He was able to score immediately! The entire country went insane, and at first, the referee had declared offsides, but thanks to VAR, the offside call was canceled, and Korea was awarded the goal! Though Korea was not able to advance to the Rounds of 16, this was an impressive game by the Taeguk Warriors as they knocked out Germany and had to send the defending champions home after just the group stages!
Soccer has this special magic that brings the country together for sure. Korea is set to play Brazil in the round of 16, and though it will be a tough match, Korea has proven that nothing is impossible. We're super excited about the results of this FIFA World Cup, and we want to thank the Korean national soccer team for giving their very best every moment of the game to deliver these excellent results for the country. We also wish the best of luck to all the countries competing in the grand global competition, and whatever the results are, we hope you enjoy the 2022 Qatar FIFA World Cup! What was your special FIFA World Cup moment for South Korea? Make sure to let us know in the comments below!
Source: Allkpop
