Korea's 2002 miracle: Hiddink's men beat Italy & Spain to reach semis

📰 In June 2002, Guus Hiddink's South Korea beat Italy and Spain to become the first Asian side to reach a World Cup semi-final. 📌 Key points 🧢 Under Hiddink, Korea topped Group D with two wins and a draw. ⚽ Ahn Jung-hwan's extra-time golden goal beat Italy 2-1 in the last 16. 🧤 The quarter-final with Spain finished 0-0, and Korea won 5-3 on penalties. 🏆 They became the first team from outside Europe and the Americas to reach the semi-finals. 🥉 Germany won the semi-final 1-0, and Korea finished fourth after losing to Turkey. 📝 What happened back then 🇰🇷 Korea won their first ever World Cup match on 4 June in Busan, beating Poland 2-0 through Hwang Sun-hong and Yoo Sang-chul. On 10 June in Daegu, substitute Ahn Jung-hwan headed a 78th-minute equaliser against the USA for a 1-1 draw. On 14 June in Incheon, Park Ji-sung's goal beat Portugal 1-0 to win the group. ⚽ In the last 16 at Daejeon on 18 June, Italy led through Christian Vieri until Seol Ki-hyeon equalised late on to force extra time. In the 117th minute Ahn out-jumped Paolo Maldini to head in Lee Young-pyo's cross, and under the golden goal rule the match ended there. 🧤 The quarter-final against Spain in Gwangju on 22 June was goalless after extra time. Lee Woon-jae saved from Joaquín, and captain Hong Myung-bo scored the fifth penalty for a 5-3 shoot-out win. In the semi-final in Seoul on 25 June, Michael Ballack's 75th-minute goal sent Germany through 1-0. 🗣️ The run was not without controversy. Italy and Spain protested furiously about refereeing decisions, and FIFA received some 400,000 complaints about the Italy game. Ahn was even told by the president of his club, Perugia, that he would never play for them again. 📊 By the numbers • Group stage: W2 D1, 4 scored, 1 conceded, 7 points • v Italy: 2-1 (Ahn golden goal, 117th minute) • v Spain: 0-0 (5-3 on penalties) 🔭 Why it matters The 2002 semi-final gave Korean football the belief that it could compete on the world stage. It opened the door for Park Ji-sung, Lee Young-pyo, Seol Ki-hyeon and others to move to Europe and began the era of Korean players abroad. Korea remain the only Asian team to have reached a World Cup semi-final.