Wolves star Hwang Hee-chan enjoyed one of the best moments of his life on Friday night.
The winger had been watching his nation push for a goal against Portugal in their final World Cup group stage match.
Hwang wasn’t quite fit enough to start the game for the Koreans, having been struggling with a hamstring injury.
That knock forced him to miss the first two games against Uruguay and Ghana.
In the 66th minute, Hwang was sent on for his first minutes of the tournament, replacing Lee Jae-sung.
Hwang is one of his country’s best players, so for him to finally get on the pitch was a major boost for them.
And Hwang would eventually show his class and make the impact his teammates hoped he would, popping up in injury time to score the winning goal for Korea.
It also turned out to be the goal that sent Korea into the knockout stages of the competition, with Uruguay only beating Ghana 2-0. They played for around seven minutes after Portugal-Korea had finished and couldn’t find the one more goal they needed to advance.
Hwang took his goal superbly well, sprinting the entire length of the field to get up and support Heung-min Son.
To say he had been having hamstring trouble, it was very impressive mobility from the 26-year-old.
Hwang has been lauded in the days since his heroics, and today the star took to Instagram to send a message after what was his 50th appearance for the national team.
He said: “Proud to be a representative of Korea, I played 50 games wearing the glorious flag.
“I am happy to score a meaningful 10th goal, with all of you who ran with me.
“Proud South Korea Fighting.”
An amazing moment for Wolves star Hwang Hee-chan, he must now use it as fuel
Hwang’s goal was one of the best moments of the World Cup so far.
South Korea were bottom of their group going into that last round of games, and Hwang’s goal has taken them into the knockout stages.
They now take on Brazil, and it will be a huge test for them.
But this is a tournament and anything can happen. We have already seen several shocks in this particular one.
Hwang will likely be feeling very confident after that stunning moment, and hopefully he can use it to spur him on for his country. And then Wolves once the World Cup is over.