Italy 1-2 South Korea (aet)
A golden goal from Ahn Jung-Hwan provided one of the World Cup's biggest shocks as South Korea knocked 10-man Italy out of the competition.
The goal proved a wonderful conclusion to the game for Perugia's Ahn Jung-Hwan who had missed a fourth minute penalty.
4 mins: Buffon saves Ahn Jung-Hwan's penalty
18 mins: Vieri's powerful header puts Italy ahead
88 mins: Seol Ki-Hyeon's goal sends the game into extra-time
103 mins: Totti is red-carded
126 mins: Ahn Jung-Hwan heads Korea into the last eight
Christian Vieri had given Italy the lead in the 18th minute, but with just two minutes of normal time remaining Seol Ki-Hyeon sent the game into extra-time.
Italy were reduced to 10-men during that period after Francesco Totti was red-carded.
The defeat brought back memories of Italy's 1-0 defeat to North Korea in 1966 as the Azzurri were once again shaken to their foundations by a Korean team.
Guus Hiddink's side will now play Spain in Kwangju on Saturday.
Thousands of Koreans had congregated in the Daejeon World Cup stadium and millions of others had taken to the streets to show their support for the co-hosts.
They were soon living on their nerves when Christian Panucci gave away the penalty after wrestling Seol Ki-Hyeon to the ground before and during Song Chong-Gug's free-kick.
But Ahn Jung-Hwan sent his kick low to Gianluigi Buffon's right and the Juventus keeper got down smartly to push the ball round the post.
It was the first time in history that a country had missed more than one penalty in a single World Cup - Eul-Yong Lee had failed to convert Korea's first against the United States in the group phase.
Ahn Jung-Hwan was Korea's most potent attacking player but until that dramatic end he had endured a frustrating game.
No more so than when he swivelled past Mark Iuliano, only to fire his shot over the bar.
Just before the interval Ahn Jung-Hwan saw another speculative effort comfortably saved by Buffon.
The fact that the Koreans were rarely able to penetrate the Italian box for long periods says much about the Italians' defensive resilience
Without the injured Alessandro Nesta and the suspended Fabio Cannavoro, Paolo Maldini moved to the centre of the back-four and proceeded to give a masterclass in defensive play.
Yet to their cost Italy, who paired Totti and Alessandro del Piero for the first time in the tournament, were always reluctant to commit players forward.
As so often in the past Italy were content to shut up shop once Vieri's striking expertise had given them the lead.
Surrounded by a posse of Korean defenders, Vieri had got to Totti's near-post corner before everyone else and headed home to claim his fourth goal of the tournament.
In the 88th minute Panucci made a mess of clearing Hwang Sun-Hong's cross allowing Seol Ki-Hyeon to rifle the ball past Buffon.
After Seol Ki-Hyeon's equaliser Vieri had a wonderful opportunity to win the game but inexplicably he sliced his shot wide with the goal gaping.
With the game heading towards penalties Ahn Jung-Hwan redeemed himself and wrote the most glorious chapter in Korean football history.
Lee Young-Pyo chipped the ball into the penalty area and Anh Jung-Hwan climbed above Maldini to head past Buffon.
South Korea: Lee Woon-Jae, Choi Jin-Chul, Hong Myung-Bo (Cha Doo-Ri 83), Kim Tae-Young (Hwang Sun-Hong 62); Kim Nam-Il (Lee Chun-Soo 68), Yoo Sang-Chul, Lee Young-Pyo, Park Ji-Sung, Song Chong-Gug; Seol Ki-Hyeon, Ahn Jung-Hwan.
Subs Not Used: Choi Eun-Sung, Choi Sung-Yong, Choi Tae-Uk,
Choi Yong-Soo, Hyun Young-Min, Kim Byung-Ji, Lee Eul-Yong, Lee Min-Sung, Yoon Jong-Hwan.
Booked: Kim Tae-Young, Song Chong-Gug, Lee Chun-Soo, Choi Jin-Chul.
Italy: Buffon, Panucci, Iuliano, Coco, Maldini, Zanetti,
Zambrotta (Di Livio 72), Tommasi, Totti,
Del Piero (Gattuso 61), Vieri.
Subs Not Used: Abbiati, Delvecchio, Di Biagio, Doni, Inzaghi,
Materazzi, Montella, Nesta, Toldo.
Sent Off: Totti (104).
Booked: Coco, Totti, Tommasi, Zanetti.
Referee: B Moreno (Ecuador).
| OFFICIAL MATCH STATS|
| || S Korea || Italy|
|Goals || 2 || 1|
|Shots on goal || 12 || 11|
|Shots on target || 8 || 5|
|Fouls committed || 27 || 23|
|Corner kicks || 10 || 7|
|Penalty kicks || 1 || 0|
|Caught offside || 0 || 5|
|Own goals || 0 || 0|
|Yellow cards || 4 || 5|
|Red cards || 0 || 1|
|Ball possession (%) || 56 || 44|
|ACTUAL PLAYING TIME || |
|First half - 37 mins || Second half - 39 mins |