Wolves star Hwang Hee-chan is getting a lot of attention following his exploits for South Korea at the World Cup – and his latest Instagram post has drawn quite the reaction.
The 26-year-old was the hero for his country, when he popped up in injury-time to score against Portugal.
Korea had to win their final group stage match to advance to the last 16.
The Taegeuk Warriors did well to get back into the game after an early strike from Ricardo Horta, with Kim Young-gwon equalising just before the half hour mark.
Korea push for the winner in the second-half, but it wasn’t until right at the right very end that they reached a breakthrough.
MORE WOLVES STORIES
Heung-min Son led a counter-attack after a Portugal corner was cleared, and Hwang sprinted the length of the field to support his teammate.
He received a perfect pass from the Tottenham Hotspur star and finished superbly into the bottom corner.
With Uruguay and Ghana finishing 2-2, it was the goal that sent Korea though.
Days later though, Korea would lose 4-1 against Brazil.
Despite that, the team received an extremely warm welcome when they touched down at Incheon airport last week.
Hwang and his teammates have been lauded for their efforts in Qatar.
And the Wolves star has been the subject of increased media attention since Korea’s exit from the tournament.
Hwang, 26, has actually done a photo shoot with W Korea and Marie Claire Korea, and the photos he’s shared on his Instagram have garnered a big response.
Hwang’s Instagram following has shot up since becoming his country’s hero in Qatar. Prior to the World Cup he was sitting at around 250,000. He’s now about to surpass 600,000.
Some of Hwang’s teammates and former teammates commented on his post.
Manchester City superstar Erling Haaland, who played with Hwang at Austrian outfit Salzburg, said ‘Wooooooow Hee Chan’, to which Hwang replied ‘I learned from you bro’.
And Wolves stars Jose Sa and Daniel Podence left light-hearted responses. Sa said ‘Amazing shoes bro’ with a crying-laughing emoji, while Podence was rather taken aback, writing ‘What is this??’.
Hwang has also done an interview with W Korea on their YouTube channel, which is subscribed to by 361,000 people.
Hwang Hee-chan’s World Cup experience can be his catalyst, as star shares new snaps on Instagram
It is amazing to see Hwang’s profile grow significantly following his exploits for South Korea.
He was a big name in his homeland before the competition. But now he’s huge, and clearly brands are looking to work with him.
Perhaps this can be a good thing for Wolves too, from a commercial standpoint.
But the main thing here is that Hwang’s popularity has soared, and that has to have done his confidence the world of good.
He hasn’t been in good form for Wolves this season. Perhaps the reason for that has been a lack of confidence.
But he has reminded everyone how good he can be over the past couple of weeks.
Hopefully he can now turn things around. He’s already made an impact for Wolves in their friendly match against Cadiz when he forced an own goal.