Japan beat South Korea 5-2 in Asian Cup

Teams were level 1-1 after full time, level 2-2 after extra time and Japan converted the first three of their penalties while South Korea flopped miserably



Japanese players mob Hajime Hosogai after he scored the winner past South Korean goalkeeper Jung Sung-ryong (left) in the tie-breaker of their Asian Cup semi-final at Al Gharafa Stadium in Doha on Tuesday.

Image Credit: Reuters



Doha: Goalkeeper Eiji Kawashima was the hero as Japan gained sweet revenge over their traditional rivals South Korea with a 5-2 tie-breaker win to enter the final of the Asian Cup football championship.

The teams were level 1-1 after full time, level 2-2 after extra time and Japan converted the first three of their penalties while South Korea flopped miserably.

Italian coach Alberto Zaccheroni was criticized for persisting with Kawashima after he allowed two goals against Qatar but the Japanese custodian rose to the occasion and pulled off two saves off the tournament’s joint top scorer Koo Ja-cheol and Lee Yong-rae while Korea’s misfortune was further intensified when Hong Jeong-jo shot wide.

Kesiuke Honda, Shinji Okazaki and Yasuyuki Konno, who conceded a penalty in the first half to Korea made no mistake with their kicks and Japan, were through to bid for their fourth Asian Cup triumph.

“It is a great win for us,” said Kawashima after the game. “It was a pity we conceded that late second goal but now we managed to win and I am happy I had a role in it.”

“Our goal is to win the Asian Cup so we will see how the final goes. We still have maybe 90 or 120 minutes and hopefully we can lift the Cup on January 29,” the Japanese goalkeeper said.

Japan, who had lost via the shootout four years ago to South Korea in their third-place play-off, thus gained some revenge and in the bargain soured rival skipper and Manchester United star Park Ji-sung’s 100 international appearance for his country.

Earlier a controversial penalty in the first half of extra-time put Japan 2-1 ahead but that last-gasp goal by Hwang Jae-won in the 119th minute took the game to the shoot out.

Japan’s second goal came following the penalty awarded by Saudi Arabia referee Khalil Al Ghamdi. Japanese defender Daiki Iwamasa baulked Shinji Okazaki just outside the box and even as Al Ghamdi blew for a free-kick the linesman indicated it was inside the box and the spot kick was awarded despite protests by the Koreans.

Keisuke Honda’s penalty was saved by Korean goalkeeper Jung Sung-ryong but Hosogai darted in to slam the rebound into the roof and Japan led 2-1.

Earlier Al Ghamdi had given the Koreans a penalty in the 23rd minute after a rough push by Japanese defender Yasuyuki Konno on Park Ji-Sung. The penalty was converted by Ki Sung Yuen.’

But Japan equalized after Honda initiated a brilliant move and sent Yuto Nagatomo on the left. The defender then found Ryoichi Maeda who scored his third goal of the championship.

Both sides missed a lot of chances though Japan looked sharper in attack. For Japan, Honda was at the heart of almost every move and the tall midfielder had a hand in both his team’s goals and was later declared MVP of the match.