CANBERRA, AUSTRALIA // South Korea beat Kuwait 1-0 in difficult conditions Tuesday to maintain their 100 per cent record in the Asian Cup so far and leave their opponents pointless after two matches.
Nam Tae-hee’s header in the 40th minute was enough to take the Koreans to six points; they secure a place in the quarter-finals, and Kuwait are doomed to go home after the group stage, unless Oman defeat Australia later in the day.
Kuwait started well and seemed eager to erase the memory of their 4-1 drubbing against Australia on the opening night. Abdulaziz Al Enezi and Ali Al Maqseed in particular looked lively in midfield.
For 25 minutes Korea looked to be lacking a cutting edge, but led by the captain Ki Sung-yeung they slowly came into the match the longer the half went on.
On 31 minutes, Kim Min-woo’s pass split the Kuwaiti defence open but Lee Keun-ho’s shot was brilliantly tipped over the bar by Hameed Youssef.
They did not have to wait long for the breakthrough. Five minutes before half-time, Cha Du-ri’s excellent cross was expertly headed home by Nam.
The second half proved a far more open affair with both team exchanging attacks.
On the hour Al Maqseed, who worked tirelessly, almost scored a stunning equaliser, curling a right-foot shot just over the bar. And at the other end Kim’s angled left-footed strike was pushed away by Youssef.
In the 64th minute Sultan Al Enezi was replaced by Kuwait’s veteran striker Bader Al Mutawa, but as rain got progressively heavier throughout the half, it was Korea who took control of the match and looked the more likely scorers.
Lee headed inches wide with 15 minutes left before man of the match Kim was withdrawn for Han Kook-young.
Korea wasted several promising breaks while Kuwait threw everything forward in the last few minutes, but there was no change to the scoreline.
akhaled@thenational.ae
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