Korea draws 1-1 with Iraq at AFC Championship

Korea tops Group C of AFC U-23 Championship after 1-1 draw with Iraq

By John Duerden

South Korea topped Group C of the 2016 AFC Under-23 Championship in a 1-1 tie with Iraq Wednesday (KST), and now the action really starts. The game won’t last too long in memory but that was because both teams had already qualified for the knockout stage and the only outstanding issue to be settled was which team would top the group and which would finish second.

Thanks to the 2-1 win over Uzbekistan and then the 5-0 thrashing of Yemen, Korea was already ahead of Iraq on goals scored and the point meant first place. Quite rightly, coach Shin Tae-yong rested most of his star players against Iraq _ with games coming every three days, the team that is freshest will have a major advantage when the semifinals and finals come around. There were seven changes made to the team that started against Yemen and the big guns should be nice and fresh by the time Saturday comes around.

One of the new men came in and scored the opening goal midway through the first half while Korea was in control of the game. A fine cross from the left from Lee Chang-min was headed home in style by Kim Hyun whose fine movement in the area created that vital space. These Taeguk Warriors have scored plenty of goals this tournament already thanks to fine striking stars such as Kwon Chang-hoon, Hwang Hee-chan and Ryu Seung-woo, and it will be pleasing for the coach that the understudies can come in and find the target. Iraq came back with a late equalizer but in the great scheme of things, it didn’t change anything. Korea still finish first and Iraq second.

Thoughts were on the quarterfinal even before the game against Iraq, and Korea will be in action on Saturday against the team that finishes second in Group D. At the time of writing, it could be any team from among the UAE, Jordan or Australia, though it is likely that it will be one of the latter two. Australia needs to defeat Jordan to secure progression while Jordan needs just a tie.

Finishing first gives some advantages for Korea. To start with, there will be an extra day’s rest and the fact that they were able to rest their biggest stars against Iraq is another bonus. Whichever opponents line up against Shin’s men this weekend, they will still be recovering from a tough final group game with 24 hours less to recover.

Getting to the semifinals is vital, as the top three teams from this tournament will qualify for the 2016 Olympics in Rio _ which is especially important for South Korea. Collecting any kind of medal in Brazil will result in the young players being handed an exemption from their mandatory military service, obviously a big deal.

If Korea does progress past the quarterfinal stage, North Korea or Qatar will be its semifinal opponent. Games with North Korea are always tense as everyone knows, but Qatar is the host and has been looking very impressive in winning all three of its matches in Group A. A derby with North Korea may be preferable.

At the moment, though, that is in the future. First Korea, rested and confident, has to wait for its opponent for Saturday’s quarterfinal and win. Then the stakes really will be high.