Ar Rayyan [Qatar], December 3 (ANI): South Korea's captain Son Heung-min was ecstatic after his team qualified for the knockout stages of the ongoing World Cup and thanked his teammates for shielding his back.

The captain heaped praises on his players and mentioned that they have made numerous sacrifices for the team and made him proud.

"I have not been doing a good job as their captain, but my teammates have covered my back. I am so thankful for them and so proud of them. They never gave up and made sacrifices for the team," said Son as quoted by Sky Sports.

The Tottenham Hotspur star expressed that it was his long-awaited dream to make it into the tournament's knockout stages.

"I've been waiting for this moment a long time and I believed we could get it done," said Son, appearing in his third World Cup.

Hwang Hee-chan, the 'Player of the Match' for his decisive goal shared that the team always believed that they could get into the Round of 16.

"It was difficult waiting for it. But we proved once again we could make it to the knock-out phase, and we maintained that trust and continued with our match. This is something we wanted and expected, so I would like to share these feelings with all the Korean people back at home," expressed Hwang.

Hwang Hee-Chan's goal in stoppage time helped South Korea stun Portugal 2-1 in their last Group H match of the FIFA World Cup 2022 being played at the Education City Stadium. With this win, the Koreans made it to the pre-quarters.

Portugal had six shots on target and so did South Korea. In terms of possession, Portugal was far ahead having 62 per cent while Korea had only 38.

South Korea are going to face Group G winners Brazil. On the other hand, Portugal will take on Switzerland in the Round of 16 matchups. (ANI)