South Korea carried not only the hopes of their of nation into today's match, but also the secondary hopes of the Lebanese people. Kuwait came into Seoul knowing that only a win would see them qualify for the final ten in Asia. Any other result and both South Korea and Lebanon would advance. A nervy first half resulted in few opportunities and was quite forgettable.
In the second half, South Korea finally took the pressure off themselves by securing an opener twenty minutes after the restart. Lee Dong-Gook, recalled into the national side by the new coach (who had been his coach at club level immediately prior), had scored twice in the friendly win over Uzbekistan four days ago. He notched the opener after a nice hold up maneuver followed by a give-and-go during which he dropped into open space, freeing himself from a quartet of oblivious defenders. Lee Keun-Ho (pictured, red) notched the South Koreans second six minutes later to finish off Kuwait 2-0. The win eliminated Kuwait from the 2014 FIFA World Cup and ensured progression to the next phase for both South Korea and Lebanon.
Lebanon are surely grateful for the aid of South Korea because they did not get the job done in Abu Dhabi. A simple dropped catch off a direct free kick led to the United Arab Emirates' first goal. Three minutes later, the pro-Lebanon crowd on hand willed their team back for an equalizer and convinced Mahmoud El Ali to take a huge hit from the onsliding goalkeeper as he finished for 1-1. UAE waited another fifteen minutes to score on a ball tapped across the face of goal by Ismail Matar and finished by Ali Al Wehaibi. Hassan Maatouk found a pretty equalizer in stoppage time despite having to overcome a severe numerical disadvantage in the attacking third, sending the teams into the locker room square at two goals apiece.
In the strike of the match, Ismail Matar struck a booming free kick goal from thirty-eight meters that sent UAE into a 3-2 lead. However, by this time South Korea had already taken the lead in Seoul, so Lebanon had good reason to believe they would advance even with a loss. With just over ten minutes left in the match, UAE pushed the lead to 4-2 after another soft goal given up by Abbas Hassan, who surely must relinquish the job back to Ziad El Samad. The 4-2 loss did not prevent Lebanon from advancing to the final round of Asian qualifying for their first time in their history.
South Korea 13 pts - IN
Lebanon 10 pts - IN
Lebanon 10 pts - IN
Kuwait OUT
UAE OUT
Goals
South Korea
Lee Dong-Gook 65
Lee Keun-Ho 71
United Arab Emirates
Basheer Saeed 20, 79
Ali Al Wehaibi 38
Ismail Matar 69
Lebanon
Mahmoud El Ali 23
Hassan Maatouk 45+2
Match Reports:
Highlights:
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ai_2AEfs328 (South Korea v. Kuwait)
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=03leH3TKLPw (UAE v. Lebanon)
Full Match Video:
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=-P7D9XBVc4k (South Korea v. Kuwait)
Full Match Video:
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=-P7D9XBVc4k (South Korea v. Kuwait)
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