By Kang Seung-woo
Staff Reporter
The national football team showed brighter prospects for the upcoming Asian Cup, downing Iraq 3-0 in a friendly match, Friday.
In the game, a preparation match for those against Middle East countries _ Saudi Arabia and Bahrain _ in the first round of the regional cup, Lee Chun-soo scored one goal and had one assist.
Yeom Ki-hun's and Lee Keun-ho' first goals with the national squad lifted Korea to an easy win in the game played at Seogwipo World Cup Stadium.
South Korea is drawn into Group D with powerhouses Saudi Arabia, Bahrain and co-hosts Indonesia.
Defeating Iraq, which has also qualified for the Asian Cup and is grouped with Australia, Oman and Thailand, manager Pim Verbeek's side now has a 2-2 record in friendly matches this year.
Korea had a 1-0 win over Greece last February, but then suffered two consecutive losses to Uruguay in March and the Netherlands earlier this month.
Korea is the world's No. 51 team in the FIFA rankings, while Iraq is 84th.
Middlesbrough forward Lee Dong-gook started for the first time in an international match after one year and four months and led Korean team's offense in the first half, showing that his skills have not deteriorated.
After ceaseless attacks, South Korea had its first chance at goal in the fourth minute.
Captain and defender Kim Sang-sik of Seongnam Chunma headed a corner kick to Lee Dong-gook, whose right-footed volley was saved by the goalie.
Lee again fired a 30-meter mid-range shot in the seventh minute on crossing the halfway line but to no avail.
In the eighteenth minute of the first half, Lee crossed the ball to Ulsan Tigers striker Choi Sung-kuk, leaving him face-to-face with the goalkeeper one-on-one.
His right-footed shot was parried off the end of the goalie's hands.
In the semifinal of the Doha Asian Games, the favored South Korean squad lost to Iraq 0-1 in the only counterattack the team made despite Korea's domination of the game.
In the 32nd, a defensive Iraq finally attempted to strike back.
Three Iraqi players outnumbered one Korean defender, but goalie Kim Yong-dae's save rescued the team.
Entering the second half, as coach Verbeek had said before the game, he replaced striker Lee with last season's K-League leading scorer Woo Sung-young of the Ulsan Tigers.
Yeom opened the long awaited scoring six minutes into the second half.
Oh Bum-seok sent a cross in from right that was half-cleared by the Iraqi goalie. The ball fell to Yeom who slotted the ball into the net from the left of the area.
In the 80th, Lee Chun-soo added a second, heading in a cross from Oh into the right corner.
Five minutes later, Lee, attacking along the left flank, beat a defender and lobbed the ball to international match debutant Lee Keun-ho of Daegu FC, who fired home with a volley to seal the match.
South Korea will have one more friendly match with Uzbekistan on July 7 in Seoul and then fly to Indonesia for Asian Cup.
The Asian Cup will be held from July 7-29 in Malaysia, Indonesia, Thailand and Vietnam.