Saudi coach Mancini sorry for leaving shootout loss early

Saudi Arabia head coach Roberto Mancini has apologized after mistakenly leaving before the end of his team's penalty shootout defeat to South Korea in the Asian Cup on Tuesday.

The Italian had seen his side dramatically surrender a 1-0 lead in the ninth minute of stoppage time at Education City Stadium, to force extra time, then miss two shots on goal in the penalty shootout.

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Mancini turned and headed to the locker room without seeing Hwang Hee-Chan convert the decisive kick that put South Korea through to the quarterfinals 4-2 on penalties and d organize a clash with Australia on Friday.

“I apologize [for leaving early], I thought it was over. I didn't want to disrespect anyone,” Mancini said at a press conference. “I want to thank all my players for what they did. They are improving a lot.”

“As a group we have progressed a lot. We worked together for a month [for the Asian Cup] and that's important.

Saudi Arabia had led the round of 16 thanks to Abdullah Radif's 46th-minute goal, but Cho Gue-Sung sent the match into extra time with a late header.

In the shootout, South Korean goalkeeper Jo Hyeon-Woo saved penalties from Sami Al Naji and Abdulrahman Ghareeb.

Mancini was aiming to win his second major international title as coach after leading Italy to success at the European Championship in 2021.

South Korea head coach Jurgen Klinsmann could add the Asian Cup to the Concacaf Gold Cup he won with the United States in 2013.

Reporting from ESPN's Joey Lynch contributed to this report