Korea squeezes into U-23 Champs semis

Moon Chang-jin of South Korea, left, celebrates after scoring a goal during his side’s AFC U-23 Championships quarterfinal game against Jordan at Suheim Bin Hamad Stadium in Doha, Qatar, Saturday. / Yonhap

Taeguk Warriors must improve against Qatar on Wednesday

By John Duerden

South Korea squeezed into the semifinals of the 2016 AFC Under-23 Championships with a 1-0 win over Jordan on Saturday. The victory means a date with host Qatar on Wednesday. It should be quite a battle and to win, the Taeguk Warriors need to improve ― or at least play well for a full 90 minutes.

Against Iraq in the final group match, Korea was well on top for the first hour or so, before the opposition came back for the tie, and something similar was in danger of happening here. Korea was impressive in the first half against Jordan but in the second, it was a very different story and Shin Tae-yong’s men were hanging on and waiting for the final whistle to come.

It started well. Just two minutes after Korean hearts were in their mouths after stand-in goalkeeper Gu Sung-yun rushed out of his area for the ball and almost presented Jordan with a clear shot into an empty net, the men in red were ahead.

A cross from Kwon Chang-hoon missed three Jordan defenders and found Ryu Seung-woo at the far post. He found Moon Chang-jin, who found the back of the net for the third time this tournament with the coolest of shots. Shortly after, Jordan goalkeeper Bani Ateyah saved well to deny Kwon and Korea was looking very slick indeed.

The only negative about the first 45 minutes was that Korea did not score more. It continued to control the game and looked likely to get a second but it just did not happen and as the second half got going, so did Jordan.

The West Asians were getting themselves into decent positions but were unable to finish them and when Hwang Hee-chan went off injured around the hour, there were real concerns on the Korean bench.

Midway through the second half Korea was given the luckiest of breaks. Jordan’s Ehsan Haddan’s bicycle kick inside the area was headed into the net by Baha Faisal from close range. The officials deemed the attacker to be offside and disallowed the goal. It was the wrong decision. The goal should have stood.

The momentum was well and truly with Jordan, with Korea pushed deeper and deeper into defense, a shadow of the lively, aggressive and inventive team from the first half. As the remaining minutes ticked down, tensions grew and in the late stages of the game, it was all hands on deck as Korea tried to stop Jordan scoring.

And that is exactly what it did. Qatar will be a much tougher challenge. The host has impressed on its way to the last four and is the only one of the four teams left with a 100 percent record. The 2022 World Cup host is building for that tournament and hopes that the best of this under-23 team will be at their peak seven years from now.

Qatar on home soil presents a big barrier but there is hope for Korea. If Shin’s men play well for 90 minutes, few teams in Asia can live with them. And even defeat is not the end of the world. The main target for this tournament is to finish in the top three and qualify for the 2016 Rio Olympics. So even if Korea loses, there will be a play-off against either Iraq or Japan to see who takes third and goes to Brazil.

But it is best to get the tickets to Rio sorted as soon as possible. If Korea defeats Qatar, it will reach the final of this tournament and go to the Olympics.