Asian Games
The last eight showdowns will see defending champions Korea Republic facing Vietnam, China PR taking on Thailand, Uzbekistan playing Saudi Arabia while Japan will meet DPR Korea with the matches to take place on Friday and Saturday.
Group A
Japan 3-0 Thailand
With both sides having already sealed their quarter-final berths with a game to spare, the tie was to determine the group winners.
Japan were in a class of their own with goals from Yotaro Nakajima (31st), Keita Kosugi (47th) and Hisatsugu Ishii (48th) completing a perfect group stage for the hosts.
The result saw Japan top the group on nine points while Thailand finished three adrift.
Kyrgyz Republic 4-0 Hong Kong, China
Kyrgyz Republic and Hong Kong, China went into the match knowing they had already been eliminated but with pride at stake, produced an entertaining match.
The Central Asians did not have to wait long to open the scoring, Daniel Omarov finding the back of the net in the seventh minute with Yryskeldi Madanov adding another in the 22nd.
The second half played out along the same lines with Kyrgyz Republic signing off on a positive note through further goals from Erbol Abdulzhaparov (63rd) and Sardorbek Nematov (86th).
Group B
China PR 0-0 UAE
Going into the match with four points in hand, China PR knew that they only had to avoid defeat against the United Arab Emirates to advance while the West Asian side needed to win by a big margin to avoid elimination.
China PR ceded possession to UAE for the majority of the match but goalkeeper Li Hao and his defenders were impenetrable despite their opponents having five shots on target
The stalemate enabled China PR to top Group B with five points while UAE finished bottom on two points.
IR Iran 1-4 DPR Korea
Islamic Republic of Iran held the upper hand prior to the start of the match as they had picked up four points in their opening two matches but DPR Korea produced a brilliant comeback.
Ri Song Hung’s 17th minute own goal gave Iran the lead but the East Asian side showed their indomitable spirit to draw level through Choe Kuk in the 41st minute before Ra Myong Song put DPR Korea ahead just three minutes later.
There was to be no let up from DPR Korea in the second half with Ra adding another in the 51st minute with Paek Chung Song’s 68th minute strike earning them second place ahead of Iran on a better head-to-head record.
Photos: AFP, Asian Games
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