South Korea vs Malaysia score, result as Son Heung-min added-time goal not enough for victory in 2023 Asian Cup

Brad Cox

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South Korea vs Malaysia score, result as Son Heung-min added-time goal not enough for victory in 2023 Asian Cup image

South Korea qualified for the Round of 16 of the 2023 Asian Cup after a gripping 3-3 draw with Malaysia on Thursday.

Despite a Son Heung-min go-ahead goal in injury time, Jurgen Klinsmann's men could only finish second in their group as Malaysia battled 15 minutes after the 90 to steal an equaliser in a six-goal thriller.

In the first half, South Korea took the lead when VAR replays confirmed Jeong Woo-yeong's bullet header had crossed the line before Syihan Hazmi could prevent it.

However, Malaysia mounted a comeback with two goals in 11 minutes to open the second half. Faisal Halim cleverly deceived the South Korean defence, appearing to cross before skilfully finding the net with a tidy finish. Then, Arif Aiman earned a penalty, with thanks to VAR, and converted with ease to take the lead. 

Malaysia's misfortune began when Lee Kang-in free-kick struck the crossbar but rebounded off the goalkeeper into his own net. Son, the Tottenham skipper, then put South Korea ahead with a penalty early in stoppage time. He thought he had secured top spot in Group E, but that was before Romel Morales had Malaysia fans in euphoric celebration.

He brilliantly controlled the ball and scored with a clinical finish, earning Malaysia their first and only point in the competition. This saw Klinsmann's men drop to runners-up in the group, with Bahrain claiming the top spot after defeating Jordan 1-0.

MORE: Asia Cup fixtures, results, more

South Korea vs Malaysia final score

  Final score Goalscorers
South Korea 3 Jeong 21', Lee 83', Son 90+3'
Malaysia 3 Halim 51', Aiman 62', Morales 90+15'

South Korea vs Malaysia commentary from Asian Cup

FT: That's all! What a six-goal thriller that was. 

105th minute: GOAL! In the 15th minute of added time, Malaysia pull Korea back! It's 3-3...this game has been something else. 

94th minute: GOAL! Heung-min Son tucks it home and South Korea lead in added time. 

93rd minute: Oh is sandwiched by two Malaysian defenders in the box and the referee goes over to the monitor to take a look. He gives it! Penalty to South Korea! 

90th minute: A late VAR check for a penalty for South Korea...

83rd minute: GOAL! Korea are level! Kang-in Lee's free-kick is saved well by Hazmi but the ball hits the underside of the bar and rebounds off the goalkeeper into the back of the net. It doesn't get much unluckier than that. 

74th minute: Some changes for Malaysia as they look to see this one out. Darren Lok makes way for Paulo Josue, who was born in Brazil.

67th minute: Faisal has a glorious opportunity to double Malaysia's lead but he just can't quite wrap his foot around the ball to curl it into the far corner. 

62nd minute: GOAL! MALAYSIA LEAD! Aiman dispatches the penalty with ease. This has been a remarkable start to the second half. South Korea are now third in the group...

61st minute: PENALTY MALAYSIA! What a turnaround this is, they look a completely different team and can now take the lead.  

58th minute: VAR check for a potential penalty to Malaysia...

51st minute: GOAL! Faisal Halim equalises for Malaysia, what a finish! Game on. 

46th minute: The second half resumes...

HT: It's South Korea that deservedly lead at the break. Malaysia have been organised at the back but will need to improve their attack if they're to get something out of this game.

35th minute: Just the 80% possession for Korea in this first half, they've been utterly dominant so far but will want to expand on their one-goal lead. 

30th minute: Malaysia have done well to steady the ship since falling behind but are lacking any sign of causing Korea problems. 

24th minute: At first it looked like Hazmi had cleared the ball, but the replay showed that the ball had crossed the line before he could do so.

21st minute: GOAL! What a header from Woo-yeong Jeong to give South Korea the lead. 

15th minute: Huge chance for Son! He breaks at pace and cuts onto his left foot before trying his luck. He forces Hazmi into a good save. 

8th minute: Kang-In Lee is yet again looking like the danger man for South Korea as he's the one making things happen. 

4th minute: The Malaysia fans behind the goal are creating a great atmosphere in these early stages. 

1st minute: South Korea get the game started.   

5 minutes until kickoff: The national anthems are underway and kickoff is next. 

30 minutes until kickoff: Team news is here! 

South Korea (4-5-1): Hyeon-woo Jo; Young-woo Seol, Young-gwon Kim, Tae-hwan Kim, Min-jae Kim; In-beom Hwang, Jae-sung Lee, Woo-yeong Jeong, Kang-in Lee, Heung-min Son; Gue-sung Cho.

Malaysia (3-4-3): Hamzi; Cools, Tan, Saad; Ting, Wilkin, Gan, Corbin-Ong; Halim, Lok, Aiman.

1 hour until kickoff: Korea boss Jurgen Klinsmann isn't too fussed about who they play in the knockouts: "It doesn't matter when you meet certain countries. They're all very good. They're all motivated, they all fight and they're all emotional."

2 hours until kickoff: Last time out for the Korea Republic...

South Korea vs Malaysia lineups

Captain Son Heung-min is expected to start up top for South Korea after scoring from the penalty spot against Jordan.

South Korea projected starting lineup (4-4-2, left to right): Hyeon-woo (GK) — Young-woo, Seung-hyun, Min-jae, Jin-su — Kang-in, Jin-seop, Woo-yeong, Jae-sung — Hyeon-gyu, Heung-min.

South Korea subs: To be confirmed

Skipper Matthew Davies is set to make his 50th appearance for Malaysia.

Malaysia projected starting lineup (5-3-2, left to right): Hazmi (GK) — Davies, Tan, Cools, Eldstal, Corbin-Ong — Fazail, Gan, Halim — Morales, Lok.

Malaysia subs: To be confirmed

How to watch South Korea vs Malaysia

Here's how to watch 2023 AFC Asian Cup matches across selected areas of the world's major regions:

Region TV Streaming
USA — Fubo, Paramount+
Canada —

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UK — TrillerTV
Australia 10 Play Paramount+
India — FanCode

USA: AFC Asian Cup matches will be available for live streaming via Paramount+ and Fubo.

UK: Asian Cup matches will be shown on subscription streaming service TrillerTV.

Australia: Paramount+ will provide streaming services for the tournament and 10 Play will broadcast Australia's matches.

India: Streaming service FanCode is the place to go for AFC Asian Cup matches.

Brad Cox

Brad Cox Photo

Brad is a content producer for The Sporting News and has previously worked for the likes of Squawka and The Athletic. His career highlight to date is reporting from the 2022 UEFA Champions League Final in Paris.