Hee Chan Hwang was the South Korea hero as both he and Boubacar Traore reached the quarter-finals of the Asian Cup and Africa Cup of Nations respectively on Tuesday night.
Hwang and Traore were both second half substitutes for their countries as South Korea and Mali progressed into the next stage of their tournaments and will both have their eyes on claiming their respective prizes.
However, it wasn’t all great news for Wolves players this week, with Justin Hubner heading back to Wolverhampton after Indonesia fell out of the Asian Cup at the last 16 stage following defeat to Australia on Sunday lunchtime.
Hee Chan Hwang | South Korea 1-1 Saudi Arabia (4-2 on pens)
Still not fully fit having missed Korea’s opening two group stage games with injury, Hwang once again came on in the second half as his country faced Saudi Arabia in the last 16 of the Asian Cup. Following a goalless first half, Korea had fell behind just after the break to an Abdullah Radif finish, with the goal signalling Hwang’s time to come off the bench. With the game looking to end in a narrow win for Saudi, Korea got their crucial equaliser in the ninth minute of added time. The teams were not able to be separated after 120 minutes, so the game went to penalties. Korea’s first three penalties were scored, while Saudi’s third and fourth spotkicks were saved by Hyeon-woo Jo, allowing the Wolves forward to step up and fire home the winning penalty, and set up a quarter-final clash with Australia on Friday.
Next up: South Korea vs Australia | Friday 2nd February, 3.30pm
Boubacar Traore | Mali 2-1 Burkina Faso
Mali also progressed into the quarter-finals of AFCON on Tuesday evening, with Traore back in contention having missed out on a place in squad during the final two group stage games. Topping Group E, Mali faced off against Group D runners-up Burkina Faso, but Traore had to settle for a place on the bench. However, the Wolves midfielder did see some action, even if it was just a few minutes in added time as he helped Mali to see out a 2-1 victory and set up a tricky last eight tie with Ivory Coast.
Next up: Mali vs Ivory Coast | Saturday 3rd February, 5pm
Congratulations Boubacar and Mali! 🇲🇱
— Wolves (@Wolves) January 30, 2024
Into the #AFCON2023 quarter-finals! 🙌 pic.twitter.com/XY9r7omhYB
Justin Hubner | Indonesia 0-4 Australia
A regular in the Indonesia line-up for the Asian Cup, Hubner was once again in from the start for his country, but there was nothing much the Academy defender could do to stop a strong Australia side from booking their place in the quarter-finals. Indonesia fell behind inside the opening quarter of an hour before Australia made it two before the break. Hubner continued for the entire 90 as the Socceroos added two more in the second half, with Leicester City’s Harry Souttar closing out the game in added time. Despite the result, it’s been a positive first international tournament for the former Dutch youth international.
