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Asian Cup: Son helps South Korea preserve perfect record

January 16, 2019

South Korea preserved their perfect record in the Group C decider against China as Heung-Min Son made an immediate impact at the Asian Cup. However, there was no separating Iran and Iraq in Group D.

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Fußball Asien-Cup Südkorea vs. China
Image: Reuters/S. Salem

Group C

South Korea 2-0 China

(Hwang Pen. 14', Kim 51')

After making a fashionably late arrival that A-list superstars would have been proud of, Heung-Min Son play the role of supporting actor in his first game at the Asian Cup as South Korea made it three wins out of three in Group C.

"My first game of the tournament, clean sheet, 2-0 -- it's a happy afternoon!,” said the Tottenham striker, who had a hand in both goals, winning an early penalty before picking out Min-Jae Kim from a corner to help South Korea wrap up the group stages with a perfect record.

"We could have scored more goals due to the opportunities we created during the 90 minutes,” said head coach Paulo Bento. "With this result we achieved the aim that we wanted to achieve, getting in the first position of the group."

Fußball Asien-Cup Südkorea vs. China
Heung-Min Son was given special dispensation to miss the opening two games of the Asian Cup after an agreement with his club Tottenham.Image: Reuters/S. Salem

Read more: Australian confirm knockout place

Kyrgyzstan 3-1 Philippines

(Lux 24', 51', 77'; Schröck 80')

A Vitalij Lux hat-trick sent Sven-Goran Eriksson's Philippines crashing out and Kyrgyzstan through from Group C as one of the best third-placed teams after a 3-1 victory.

The Filipino "street dogs" grabbed a late consolation through Stephan Schrock -- their first-ever Asian Cup goal and one celebrated with gusto by their noisy fans. 

Read more: German footballing know-how in Uzbekistan

Group D

Iran 0-0 Iraq

(-)

Iran finished top of their Group D on Wednesday after a hard-fought but goalless draw with arch-rivals Iraq.

The latest instalment in one of football's great rivalries began at a frenetic pace, but a raw and uncompromising first half gave way to a more tactical second period. Iraq nearly snatched a late winner, but both sides appeared happy to settle for the draw and reserve their energy for the knockout stages.

"I'm a little bit tired after that," said Iran head coach Carlos Queiroz. "It was intense, it was enthusiastic, it was played in a good spirit."

AFC Asian Cup Iran - Irak
Iran are still yet to concede at the Asian Cup 2019 after they clinched top spot in Group D on goal difference following a 0-0 draw with Iraq.Image: mehrnews

Vietnam 2-0 Yemen

(Nguyen 38', Que Pen. 64')

Vietnam kept their hopes of reaching the last 16 alive after wrapping up third place in Group D courtesy of a 2-0 win over war-torn Yemen.

Nguyen Quang Hai produced a sensational effort from a free-kick handed the lead to the Golden Dragons, who doubled their advantage after the break with Que Ngoc Hai converting from the spot. 

Vietnam will have to wait until Thursday when the group stage concludes to find out if they've done enough to reach the knockout stages as one of the four best third-placed teams.

jt (AFP, dpa)