Japan, South Korea fight for third place today
Saturday, 28 July 2007
JAKARTA, Jul 27 (AP): Japan and South Korea will contest not only third place in the Asian Cup but what remains of East Asian pride when they meet in a consolation play off today (Saturday).
The two nations will play the third place decider in Palembang on the Indonesian island of Sumatra, after Japan lost 3-2 to Saudi Arabia and South Korea was defeated in a penalty shoot-out in the semi-finals of the Asian Cup Wednesday.
South Korea and Japan looked poised to become the vanguard of Asian football when they co-hosted the World Cup in 2002, reaching the semi-finals and second round respectively.
Though Japan won the subsequent Asian Cup in 2004, the progress of the two has plateaued since the heady days of 2002.
At the 2006 World Cup, both were first round casualties, and their failure to reach the final of this Asian Cup is the latest setback.
Neither brought full-strength squads to this Asian Cup, with South Korea particularly hard-hit by the absence of English Premier League trio Park Ji-sung of Manchester United, Tottenham's Lee Young-pyo and Seol Ki-hyeon of Middlesbrough.
Though South Korea managed to reach the semi-finals, it only won one match in regulation play during the tournament -- a chancy 1-0 win over Indonesia in the last group game -- before a penalty shootout victory over Iran in the quarterfinals.
The two nations will play the third place decider in Palembang on the Indonesian island of Sumatra, after Japan lost 3-2 to Saudi Arabia and South Korea was defeated in a penalty shoot-out in the semi-finals of the Asian Cup Wednesday.
South Korea and Japan looked poised to become the vanguard of Asian football when they co-hosted the World Cup in 2002, reaching the semi-finals and second round respectively.
Though Japan won the subsequent Asian Cup in 2004, the progress of the two has plateaued since the heady days of 2002.
At the 2006 World Cup, both were first round casualties, and their failure to reach the final of this Asian Cup is the latest setback.
Neither brought full-strength squads to this Asian Cup, with South Korea particularly hard-hit by the absence of English Premier League trio Park Ji-sung of Manchester United, Tottenham's Lee Young-pyo and Seol Ki-hyeon of Middlesbrough.
Though South Korea managed to reach the semi-finals, it only won one match in regulation play during the tournament -- a chancy 1-0 win over Indonesia in the last group game -- before a penalty shootout victory over Iran in the quarterfinals.