Asian Games S. Korea beat Saudi Arabia to win group in men's football
Shin Min-ha of South Korea, right, reacts after scoring his side's first goal against Saudi Arabia during Asian Games men's football Group D match at Nagoya City Mizuho Park Rugby Field, Japan, Tuesday. Yonhap
NAGOYA — South Korea beat Saudi Arabia 2-0 to win their group in the Asian Games men's football tournament on Tuesday.
Shin Min-ha and Kim Myeong-jun each scored in the second half of the teams' final Group D match at Nagoya City Mizuho Park Rugby Field in Nagoya, central Japan.
Coached by Lee Min-sung, the under-23 Taegeuk Warriors are going for the country's fourth straight gold medal.
Both teams had already punched their tickets to the quarterfinals before this match, by virtue of each winning their openers.
Group D is the only group to have three teams, while three other groups have four nations each. With the top two teams from each group advancing to the quarters, South Korea and Saudi Arabia secured the top two spots last Friday when Saudi Arabia beat Qatar 2-0 to hand them their second straight loss -- ensuring Qatar would finish last.
South Korea did not record their first shot until the 22nd minute and knocked on the Saudi Arabian door a few more times in the final moments of the first half.
Then in the 67th minute, Shin headed home the opening goal, with Eom Ji-sung -- who scored a hat trick against Qatar in the opener -- providing the assist.
Kim then rounded out the scoring with his own header goal two minutes later. It was Kim's second goal in two matches.
As the Group D winner, South Korea will take on the Group C runner-up, Vietnam, in the quarterfinals at 7:30 p.m. Friday at Nagoya City Mizuho Park Rugby Field.
The semifinals will be Sept. 30 in Osaka, some 140 kilometers west of Nagoya. Both the bronze medal match and the gold medal match will be Oct. 3 at Toyota Stadium in Toyota, about 25 km east of Nagoya.