DOHA: South Korea yesterday relied on three second-half goals to beat hosts Qatar 3-1 to reach the final of the AFC U-23 Championship.
In the final on January 30, Korea will take on Japan who earlier yesterday beat defending champions Iraq 2-1 at Lekhwiya Stadium.
The two finalists have now qualified for the football competition of the 2016 Olympic Games.
Qatar, coached by Felix Sanchez, will not lock horns with Iraq to try and grab the last remaining Olympic Games berth on January 29.
Only the top three sides will reach Rio de Janeiro Olympic Games.
Kwon Chang-hoon and Moon Chang-jin scored in the final six minutes of the game – with Moon’s strike in the fifth minute of stoppage time – to ensure the South Koreans qualify for a record eighth consecutive Olympic tournament. Ryu Seung-woo had put Korea Republic in front three minutes into the second half but Ahmed Alaa’s goal with 11 minutes remaining looked set to take the game into extra-time.
But Kwon Chang-hoon scored with a minute left of normal time before Moon Chang-jin sealed the victory in the 95th minute to send Shin Tae-yong’s side through.
Both coaches made only one change to their outfield players from the quarter-finals, with Fahad Ali making way for Moez Ali in Sanchez’s Qatari team while Shin chose not to risk Hwang Hee-chan after he picked up an ankle injury in the win over Jordan, choosing to field Kim Hyun instead.
Shin also switched his goalkeeper after Gu Sung-yun’s unconvincing display in the quarter-final, replacing the Consadole Sapporo custodian with Seongnam FC’s Kim Dong-jun.
The home side were on the back foot from the first whistle with Ryu Seung-woo finding his way behind the Qatar defence before hitting his attempt at goal off target with little more than 10 seconds on the clock.
But despite that shaky start, it was the Qataris who looked the more likely to start the scoring in the opening period. Abdelkarim Hassan threatened after just four minutes while Ali beat the Korean defence to Akram Afif’s 11th minute free kick, only to send his header wide of the target. Seven minutes later, Ali tried his luck again, this time seeing his shot blocked.
It took until the 25th minute for the Koreans to fashion their first serious attempt on goal when Hwang Ki-wook did well to set himself up from 25 yards out, but his shot was dragged wide of the target. Hassan, meanwhile, had his effort deflected wide four minutes later at the other end.
Three minutes after the restart, though, the Korea Republic took the lead when Ryu Seung-woo beat Muhannad Naim in the race to meet Hwang Ki-wook’s ball forward, clipping his shot into the unguarded net with his first touch.
The goal sparked a period of dominance for Shin’s team with Kim Hyun forcing Naim into a diving save while substitute Moon Chang-jin’s attempt was straight at Naim. Lee Chang-min then saw his well-struck effort curl just wide of the post.
Ali Asad almost levelled the scores when his header was well saved by Kim Dong-jun, but by the 79th minute the Qataris had equalised when Alaa volleyed home Musaab Al Khidir’s cross, with Kim Dong-jun allowing the ball to slip under his body and over the line. Five minutes later Asad could have put Qatar in front only to shoot straight at Kim Dong-jun and, in the 89th minute, the home side were left to rue that miss as Kwon Chang-hoon rounded off a fine move, pushing Lee Seul-chan’s low cross from the right over the line to put the Koreans back in front.
With the game in its final seconds, Moon Chang-jin struck from close range to seal Korea’s passage to Rio de Janeiro and a place in the final against Japan while the Qataris will face Iraq in the fight for the third berth at the Olympic Games.
Earlier, Riki Harakawa scored a 93rd minute winner as Japan secured a place in the final with a dramatic 2-1 win over Iraq at Abdullah Bin Khalifa Stadium.
Yuya Kubo had given Japan a 26th minute lead only for Saad Natiq to head home an equaliser for Iraq two minutes before half-time.
But with extra-time looming, Harakawa rifled home from the edge of the penalty area as Japan ended a two-game losing streak against Iraq.
Japan coach Makoto Teguramori made four changes from the quarter-final success over Iran, notably the recall of both striker Musashi Suzuki and midfielder Takumi Minamino, while Iraq counterpart Shahad Abdulghani brought in Saad Natiq and Amjed Hussein following last week’s last eight victory over the United Arab Emirates.
The Peninsula
