Min-woo strike steers South Korea past Japan

Kim Min-woo’s header 15 minutes from time earned South Korea a 1-0 win over Japan to seal top spot in Group B of the AFC U-23 Asian Cup at Jassim Bin Hamad Stadium on Monday and set up a quarter-final meeting with Indonesia.Japan, meanwhile, will take on hosts Qatar in their last eight encounter on Thursday after finishing in second place in the standings, with Go Oiwa’s side suffering their first defeat of the competition.Min-woo scored 17 minutes after being introduced from the bench by head coach Hwang Sun-hong during a game that had looked destined for long periods to end in a draw as both teams had already secured their spots in the knockout rounds.Japan kept pushing with Joel Chima Fujita’s effort deflected off target and Hosoya heading directly at Baek, while Sato’s header hit the post in a frantic finish but the Koreans held on.Meanwhile, a gritty performance from China saw them end their campaign on a winning note by defeating the United Arab Emirates 2-1. The victory was only the East Asians’ second ever win in tournament victory and saw them finish third in Group B ahead of their opponents, with both already eliminated prior to kick-off.China side that broke the deadlock in the 24th minute. Harib Abdalla’s half-hearted headed clearance from Tao Qianglong’s cross saw the ball fall to Xie Wenneng near the penalty spot, and the 23-year-old promptly volleyed it into the left bottom corner.It was China’s first goal in six matches, with the last time they found the back of the net coming in a 3-0 win against Oman in 2018. Three minutes into the second half UAE equalised. Ahmed Fawzi masterfully brought Abdulla Almenhali’s piercing diagonal pass under control before calmly sliding the ball past the onrushing goalkeeper Li Hao.But in the end, UAE simply could not muster enough to avoid a third successive loss even with nine minutes of added time, leaving China to celebrate a hard-earned triumph at the Abdullah Bin Khalifa Stadium.Iraq edge Saudi for top spotIraq completed their turnaround with a 2-1 win over Saudi Arabia to emerge the Group C winners. A second consecutive win enabled Iraq to overcome an opening defeat to Thailand to finish top on six points with Saudi Arabia also advancing as the runners-up, after Thailand lost 1-0 to Tajikistan in the other game.Chasing the win necessary to reach the next stage, Iraq were on the offensive and were awarded a penalty late in the first half after Mustafa Saadoon was brought down by Saleem Alabsi with Ali Jasim taking responsibility and converting in the first minute of added time. Saudi Arabia were given a way back into the match in the 10th minute of added time after referee Hiroyuki Kimura – after a VAR review – awarded them a penalty following Saadoon’s elbow on Haitham Asiri, with al-Ghamdi sending the ball home to send the teams level into the break.Having survived a nervy start to the half, Iraq retook the lead in the 63rd minute after Alabsi failed to clear the ball cleanly, allowing Saadoon to nip in with the ball bouncing off his chest and into the net from Saad Alnasser’s clearance. Meanwhile, Tajikistan wrapped up their campaign with a 1-0 victory over Thailand with a last-gasp goal from Manuchehr Safarov at Al Janoub Stadium. They finished third in Group C with Thailand finishing in the bottom. Safarov scored the decisive goal in first minute of stoppage time as he rose high to head home a Amadoni Komolov cross.