South Korea captain Jang Hyun-soo converted a penalty two minutes from time yesterday to beat archrivals Japan and secure a place in the Asian Games semi-finals.
Victory over Thailand in the next game could see the South thrown into a final with another rival, North Korea, who must thank Jong In-gwan for an injury-time goal as they beat United Arab Emirates and reached the last four.
Thailand beat Jordan 2-0, while North Korea face a tough tie against Iraq, who downed Saudi Arabia 3-0 with veteran striker Younis Mahmoud returning to haunt the Saudis.
Photo: Reuters
Mahmoud, who hit the winner in Iraq’s 2007 Asian Cup final win over the Saudis, got two goals this time to inflict more misery on the country where he plays his league soccer.
South Korea missed countless chances to break the resistance of a young Japanese side in front of 43,000 raucous fans, many wearing flashing “Red Devils” horns.
Jang calmly tucked away a spot-kick in the 88th minute after substitute Lee Jong-ho had been clattered from behind by Ryota Oshima and left with blood pouring from his nose.
South Korea’s players will be excused two years of mandatory military service if they win the tournament, which is played under the Olympic under-23 format.
Thailand will play South Korea after beating Jordan 2-0 through goals from Chanathip Songkrasin and Thawikan Kroekrit.
North Korea face the toughest semi-final, with Iraq finding goal-scoring no problem at this Asian Games contest. They beat Indonesia 4-2 to reach yesterday’s game.
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