A goal from Nam Tae-hee made South Korea the first team to find a berth in the AFC Asian Cup Australia 2015 quarter-finals after they defeated Kuwait 1-0 at Canberra Stadium on Tuesday, (Jan 13).
Taeguk Warriors’ boss Uli Stielike made seven changes from the starting eleven that defeated Oman by a solitary goal in his side’s opening match at the weekend.
According to AP, in the first half, South Korea had their breakthrough when midfielder Nam Tae-hee connected powerfully with a perfect cross from the marauding Cha Du-ri to bury a header past goalkeeper Youssef, sending the majority-Korean support into raptures.
Stielike made one change at halftime, bringing on marksman Cho, but it was the Kuwaitis who started the second period the sharpest, almost snatching an immediate equalizer as wide man Ali Almaqseed’s fizzing drive from long-range slammed against the post.
The final 30 minutes was end-to-end with both sides having good chances. But neither team could capitalize and it finished 1-0, South Korea moving to a maximum six points for the tournament.
Pessimistic
Speaking after the match, Stielike was extremely pessimistic about his side’s chances going forward. “With a performance like today you cannot go far in this tournament,” said the German. In a lot of phases in the game, Kuwait was the better team. And the result I think is very, very lucky. But I saw two good things today. One, we have six points after two games; the second is that we are no longer in the role of favorites for this competition.”
In the second match of the day, Socceroos handed Oman a comprehensive 4-0 defeat at Stadium Australia. A second straight four-goal haul by Astralia meant that they should battle with South Korea for top spot in Group A in Brisbane at the weekend.
A draw will be enough for the tournament hosts on Saturday evening to win the group on goal difference and set up a quarter-final clash with the runners-up in Group B.
