SON Heung-min was the driving force behind a stunning late save that keeps South Korea in the World Cup.
The Tottenham striker’s injury-time lunging run and brilliance on the ball provided the assist for Hwang Heechan to score his country’s biggest goal in 14 years.
It was a Premier League one-two with the Wolves player slotting the ball into the bottom corner of the net to narrowly secure Korea’s place in the last 16.
Rivals Uruguay beat Ghana 2-0 in the simultaneous Group H match, but Son and his teammates went into the knockout stages on the back of goals scored in another evening of last-gasp football.
South Korea endured six more minutes of added time before Argentine referee Facundo Tello blew the whistle.
Son, who has been playing in the tournament while wearing a face mask to protect his fractured eye socket, tossed it off in celebration.
The Koreans finished second behind group winners Portugal, who were already assured of qualification before the match.
They only needed a point from that but looked to be well on their way to all three when they took the lead after five minutes.
Veteran defender Pepe sent a long ball high and long down the right flank with Manchester United’s Diogo Dalot waiting to pounce on the byline.
A cut-back was then perfectly timed for midfielder Ricardo Horta to surge into the box and score an early goal to give them the perfect start.
Victory in Group H gives Portugal the best route to the final as they now look set to avoid Brazil’s quintet-winning run.
But they put in an underwhelming display in what was effectively a dead rubber for them, while it meant everything to the Koreans, led by former Portugal midfielder Paulo Bento.
Just 14 minutes after taking the lead, the underdogs equalized after a rare error from Portugal skipper Cristiano Ronaldo.
An inswinging corner hit him on the back and he fell in front of defender Younggwon Kim, who swept home from close range.
With the pressure mounting in the match and the South Americans two down in the other game, Son brought his players onto the pitch at half-time for a pep talk and rally.
But it still looked like their dream would die as Portugal refused to stick to a lighting striker just as the PA announcer informed the 44,000-strong crowd that there would be six minutes of overtime.
From a Portugal attack in the Korean box, Son took the ball and galloped two-thirds the length of the pitch in a run similar to his wonder goal against Burnley in 2019.
But instead of going all the way this time, he stopped, held onto the ball with three players around him and then put a brilliant ball into the path of Hwang, who drilled his shot home to lead crazy scenes on and off the lawn.
Andrew DillonSunSport