'Special Kwon' shoots Korea into last eight

Kwon Chang-hoon celebrates scoring his team’s first goal during a group C match of the men’s Olympic football tournament between South Korea and Mexico at the National Stadium in Brasilia, Wednesday. / AP-Yonhap

By John Duerden

South Korea not only progressed to the quarterfinal of the 2016 Rio Olympics on Wednesday but the 1-0 win over Mexico in Salvador, courtesy of a spectacular strike from Kwon Chang-hoon, meant that the team won its group.

Next comes a tie against Honduras in Belo Horizonte on Sunday morning, but first it is necessary to look back and wonder just how Shin Tae-yong’s men defeated the 2012 gold medal winner.

Going into the game, Korea needed just a point to progress while Mexico needed victory to be sure. It was set up for a tense 90 minutes and that is exactly what happened.

After the 3-3 tie with Germany three days earlier, coach Shin had talked of the need to shore up the defense. A clean sheet suggests that he was successful but it was more to do with Mexico’s inability to convert one of its 22 chances (Korea managed just five) into goals.

At times, the woodwork, goalkeeper Gu Sung-yun, drafted into the team after the Germany game, and just good luck came to Korea’s rescue.

Somehow, the ball stayed out of the Asian net and then somehow Kwon Chang-hoon scored a goal with 17 minutes remaining that will live long in the memory.

Until then, Korea had offered little as an attacking force, with its full-backs, so important to the way Shin likes to play, struggling to get forward against the aggressive Mexican team.

Yet suddenly there was a corner that was headed out to Kwon outside the area. Faced with a crowded penalty area and his preferred outlet of Son Heung-min in an offside position, the Suwon Bluewings star started running.

He moved left, went past one defender on the edge of the box, pushed the ball past two more and was suddenly within sight of goal.

The impressive Hwang Hee-chan used his body strength to prevent a Mexican defender from intercepting and Kwon fired an unstoppable shot into the roof of the net and these young men in red celebrated like they had rarely celebrated before. And Kwon has done his chances of a big move to Europe no harm at all.

It was then back to defending for the rest of the game but this was now a more assured and confident backline against an increasingly desperate Mexican team. Again, there were some tense moments but now a feeling that this was going to be a fine day for the Taeguk Warriors.

There were plenty of time-wasting and angry reactions from Mexico but in the end, Korea took the points to win the group. It was not pretty but it was job done. The only objective for this stage was to progress and to do so by topping the group was a bonus.

It also means that instead of Portugal, Korea takes on Honduras in the quarterfinal. This is the easier draw, on paper at least, but the Central Americans squeezed out Argentina in the group stage.

Any complacency could be punished and it should be remembered that just as Korea will be happy to avoid Portugal and Argentina, Honduras will be just as relieved not to face Germany or Mexico.

Now it is all about getting to the semifinal. A better performance will be needed but for today, at least, there is something for Korean soccer to celebrate.

Finishing first in a tough group is a fine achievement. It will matter little, however, if the journey does not continue, but with the “Special Kwon” in form, anything could happen.