South Korea advanced to the AFC Asian Cup quarterfinal on Tuesday night with a 4-2 penalty shoot-out victory over Saudi Arabia at Education City Stadium, according to Xinhua.

After the two sides settled for a 1-1 draw at the end of 120 minutes, goalkeeper Jo Hyeon-woo became the hero for South Korea as he saved Saudi’s third and fourth penalties.

Hwang Hee-chan, the forward from Premier League club Wolverhampton Wanderers, struck into the winning penalty to help his side book a last-eight berth where they will face Australia on Friday.

It was the heavyweight clash in round of 16 with both sides combining to claim the title five times.

Though ranking 33 places lower than South Korea, Roberto Mancini's side took the lead first after seconds into the second half.

Salem Al-Dawsari, the playmaker in the counterattack system for Saudi Arabia, cushioned a pass into Abdullah Radif's path and the substitute forward controlled the ball well to make a close-range finish, leaving Bayern Munich defender Kim Min-jae helpless.

The Koreans dominated the match in the later stage as the Italian organized defense of Mancini was finally exposed.

Cho Gue-sung, the striker for Danish club Midtjylland, headed in from close range in the ninth minute of stoppage time, making the two sides enter the extra time at 1-1.

Earlier on Tuesday, Uzbekistan beat Thailand 2-1 in another Round of 16 match.

Uzbekistan will meet defending champions Qatar in the next round as the hosts beat Palestine 2-1 on Monday.

The Asian Cup, featuring a total of 24 teams, runs from January 12 to February 10.