Thu, 28 Oct, 2021
Ansan: Korea Republic were made to work to maintain their 100 percent record in the 2018 FIFA World Cup/2019 AFC Asian Cup joint-qualifiers on Thursday after toiling to a 1-0 win over Lebanon at the Ansan Wa Stadium.
Having already secured top spot in Group G ahead of this week’s final round of qualifying, the Taegeuk Warriors – for much of the game – resembled a side with little to play for as they produced an uncharacteristically lacklustre display.
But deep into injury-time, substitute Lee Jyeong-hyeop popped up with a clinical finish to hand his side their seventh victory in as many qualifiers.
The late drama sparked wild scenes of celebration from the home crowd and there was finally a look of mild satisfaction on the face of Korea Republic coach Uli Stielike, although he would have been far from pleased with what he witnessed throughout the 90 minutes.
Despite dominating proceedings from the opening whistle, the hosts were lacking any real energy in the attacking third.
When they did carve out decent openings, Lebanon custodian Mehdi Khalil did well to halt the threat as he handled numerous crosses with authority and produced a series of smart saves, but he was aided by some poor finishing from his opponents.
Hwang Ui-jo was the biggest culprit as he spurned a couple of good chances, while Crystal Palace winger Lee Chung-yong failed to really get going having been handed a chance to impress by Stielike.
Instead, it was playmakers Ki Sung-yueng and Koo Ja-cheol who did most of the good work for the South Koreans and, unsurprisingly, the former eventually played a pivotal role just as a draw looked on the cards.
In the third minute of injury-time, there appeared to be little danger when Ki picked up possession but he then embarked on a fine run down the left and hit the byline before cleverly sending the ball to the edge of the six-yard box, where it was met by Lee Jyeong-hyeop with a crisp finish past Khalil’s despairing dive and into the bottom corner.
The final whistle blew shortly after and, while it was not the prettiest of wins, it still ensured Korea Republic continue their dominance in the qualifiers, having netted 24 goals and conceding none thus far.
The group winners and four best runners-up (total 12 teams) will advance to the 2019 AFC Asian Cup finals and the final round of qualifying for the 2018 FIFA World Cup.
The next best 24 teams from the preliminary stage of the joint qualifiers will compete in a separate competition for the remaining slots (12 slots or 11 slots + 1 slot for the host) in the 24-team 2019 Asian Cup.
Photo: AFP