Korea beats Iran to win bronze in football

Koreaherald – GUANGZHOU, Korea won the bronze medal in men’s soccer of the ongoing Asian Games by coming from behind to beat Iran 4-3 on Thursday.

Korea scored all four goals in the second half thanks to Kim Bo-kyung, Park Chu-young and substitute Ji Dong-won, who added two in two minutes at the end of the half to make it a dramatic night for the Korean side.

Korea started the game nicely. Just two minutes into the game Park Chu-young found a cross inside the box, but his free header went wide.

Iran, however, took the lead on 5 minutes. A slick counter-attack allowed Gholamreza Rezaei a free chance, and the forward comfortably slotted the ball past goalkeeper Kim Seung-gyu.

Despite conceding an early goal, the Koreans had more possession in the first half, and kept attempting to level the game. But on several occasions the Korean side just couldn’t find the back of the net.

In the 38th minute, Park nearly scored after receiving a through pass, but his attempt was well blocked by the keeper.

The Iranians added another just before halftime. A free-kick from outside of the box, which appeared to be no danger, bounced into the empty net.

Korea narrowed the gap just 3 minutes into the second half thanks to Koo Ja-cheol’s powerful long-range drive.

A minute later, the Iranian side scored again. Once again, the Korean defense were to blame as they were unable to clear the ball in side the box, and Karim Ansarifard side-footed the ball into the far corner.

But the Koreans didn’t give up. On 78 minutes, AS Monaco striker Park tapped the ball home inside the box after receiving a quick cross from the right corner.

And 10 minutes after forward Ji dong-won leveled the score with a powerful header, with the defenders still looking confused, the heroic Ji scored the winner with another thumping header just inside the box.