South Korea traveled to Dubai to take on the United Arab Emirates. UAE had the greater share of chances in the first half, although they did almost put the ball in the back of their own net on one occasion late in the half as well. The South Koreans were lucky to have ended the first half tied at zero.
In the second half, the Taegeuk Warriors came out much stronger, and the momentum shifted to the South Korean side. Park Chu-Young felt he was tripped in the box for what would have been a penalty, but the referee thought otherwise and waved play on. The game was still delicately poised with two minutes left to play when a run down the left side of the pitch led to a cross across the face of goal and an easy tap-in for South Korea. Park Chu-Young added another tap-in in stoppage time to give South Korea a 2-0 victory. UAE are eliminated from the 2014 FIFA World Cup with this result.
Lebanon visited Kuwait City to take on group rivals Kuwait. Lebanon could not like what it saw as it had to make two injury substitutions within the first twelve minutes of the match. Kuwait certainly were salivating at their chance to consolidate second place in the group. Kuwait tried their hardest to capitalize on a shaken Lebanon. Slaloming runs, headers in the box just over the bar, and shots just wide of the post were the Kuwaiti trademark in the first half, which miraculously ended scoreless.
Lebanon played much better after the restart. Their short passing game returned, and with it came their attack. A cross to the back post off a short corner served as a warning shot to their hosts. A sweet one-two-three-one passing triangle allowed Lebanon to cut through four defenders and finish a one-on-one with the goalkeeper for the opener. Even after their goal, Lebanon remained the stronger side, and they were closer to a second than Kuwait were to a first. Lebanon won the match 1-0 to take control of second place in Group B. Lebanon host South Korea on Tuesday with advancement to the next phase on the line. Kuwait host UAE in what amounts to a must-win situation as they still have to travel to South Korea in February.
South Korea 10 pts +9
Lebanon 7 pts -3
Kuwait 5 pts 0
UAE OUT
Goals:
South Korea
Lee Keun-Ho 88
Park Chu-Young 90+3
Lebanon
Mahmoud El Ali 51
Match Reports:
Highlights:
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=zOYoI-6sozg (South Korea v. UAE)
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=WChCXft68gk (Lebanon v. Kuwait)
Full Match Video:
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=wp_gyDL40Og (South Korea v. UAE)
Full Match Video:
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=wp_gyDL40Og (South Korea v. UAE)
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