Asian Games 2018: Korea Republic defeats Iran in battle of giants [VIDEO]
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Loading...AFC – BEKASI, Korea Republic put on an exceptional performance to beat Islamic Republic of Iran 2-0 to advance to the 2018 Asian Games Indonesia men’s football quarter-finals.
In their best display yet in the tournament, a goal in each half from Hwang Ui-jo and Lee Seung-woo were sufficient to seal a convincing win over IR Iran and set up a quarter-final tie with 2018 AFC U23 champions Uzbekistan, who beat Hong Kong 3-0 earlier on Thursday.
Defending champions Korea Republic applied heavy pressure from the first blow of the whistle but IR Iran matched the East Asians’ intensity with their own aggressive playstyle, setting the stage for a highly entertaining match.
Despite Korea Republic’s best efforts in the final third in the opening minutes, it was IR Iran’s Younes Delfi who came closest to opening the scoring with a right-footed shot that struck the crossbar.
Just a minute later, Hwang saw his effort hit the right post.
From their multiple attempts, the young Taeguk Warriors were able to find gaps in the Iranian defence and in one such instance in the 40th minute, In-beom received the ball in the box and outmaneuvered an Iranian defender before passing it to an unmarked Hwang, who made no mistake from close range to secure the lead going into the break at the Wibawa Mukti Stadium.
Kim Hak-bum’s charges continued to press and 10 minutes into the second half, Lee Seung-woo displayed great footwork as he dribbled past two defenders and released a crackling right-footed strike from outside the box into the bottom right corner of the net to double their lead.
With their backs against the wall, IR Iran – four-time Asian Games gold medalists – hunted for the ball but Korea Republic showed great teamwork to keep the lion’s share of possession to seal victory.
