Always right, never correct: Vietnam beat South Korea after penalty shootout that seemed to pick a favorite side
After six straight penalties went in the same direction, Nguyen Thanh Nhan finally broke the pattern with the decisive kick, sending Vietnam to a memorable victory.
During a high-stakes penalty shootout, South Korean keeper Hwang Jae-yun spent the first six rounds in a seemingly monogamous relationship with his right-hand post, diving that way every single time.
It was not until the seventh attempt that he finally decided to turn left, but Vietnam’s Nhan had other plans. Nhan’s clinical finish sealed a 7-6 victory for the Golden Star Warriors, leaving the keeper empty-handed after guessing wrong seven times in a row.
“I felt like the goalkeeper was leaning to [my] right, so I decided to shoot in the opposite direction,” Nhan said after the match.
Screenshots show South Korean keeper Hwang Jae-yun consistently turning right before finally turning left in the penalty shootout during the U23 Asian Cup third-place match with Vietnam, allowing the opponents to win 7-6 in penalties, after a 2-2 draw. |
The path to that eccentric shootout was a total rollercoaster that left fans on the edge of their seat until the very last second.
Vietnam’s Nguyen Quoc Viet ignited the party early with a clinical counter-attack goal in the first half, only to see South Korea’s Kim Tae-won level the score with a piece of individual magic that briefly silenced the red-clad supporters in the second half.
The drama spiked just two minutes later when Nguyen Dinh Bac curled a stunning free kick into the net to restore Vietnam’s lead. However, Dinh Bac’s night went from “hero” to “held-his-breath” in the 86th minute when he was sent off, forcing his teammates to weather a storm with only 10 men.
South Korea finally found a crack in the armor during the dying seconds of stoppage time, hammering home an equalizer to force extra time and eventually the now-infamous shootout. Despite being a man down for the final stretch, the Vietnamese squad remained remarkably composed as they stepped up to the spot.
Vietnam secured the bronze medal and marking only the second time in history that the nation has reached the continental top four.
The intense penalty shootout of the U23 Asian Cup third-place match, including the specific penalty sequence where the Korean goalkeeper’s repetitive diving patterns became the talk of the tournament.
Comments are closed.