Ali Karimi scored a hat trick Saturday to lead Iran over Asian powerhouse South Korea 4-3, while defending champion Japan squeezed past newcomer Jordan 4-3 in a penalty shootout after tying 1-1 in regulation time in Asian Cup quarterfinal play.
Iran now faces China and Japan faces Bahrain in the semifinals Tuesday. The final of Asia's premier tournament is set for Beijing on Aug. 7.
Karimi opened the scoring with a header in the 10th minute, then headed in another goal eight minutes later before a capacity crowd in Jinan. His third came in the 77th minute when he slotted in a cross from Mehdi Mahdavikia. Iran's other point came from an own goal by South Korean defender Park Jin-sul.
South Korea's Seol Ki-hyeon scored in the 16th minute, Lee Dong-gook grabbed a goal in the 25th, and Kim Nam-il scored in the 68th.
The 2002 World Cup semifinalists had been favored to win the match, but Iran put on a powerful display of the determination and passion that won it the tournament three times in the 1960s and 1970s.
In the western city of Chongqing, neither side was able to break the deadlock in extra time after Bashar Bani Yaseen of Jordan and Japan's Takayuki Suzuki scored in the first half.
Japan was two down in the penalty shootout when referee Subkhiddin Mohd Salleh switched to the opposite goal after Japan's captain, Tsuneyasu Miyamoto, complained that the surface of the penalty spot was uneven.
Following the switch, Japan hit four of the next five, while Jordan made just one. After Tsuneyasu Miyamoto scored, Bashar Bani Yaseen hit the post, giving Japan the win.
The loss ends Jordan's impressive run in its first-ever Asian Cup appearance, in which it posted a record of one win, two draws, and a loss.
As in previous matches, Japan had to contend with hostility from the 50,000-strong crowd at the Olympic Sports Center in the western city of Chongqing.
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