DOHA: A buoyant South Korea say they have nothing to fear from Japan after rolling into an Asian Cup semi-final showdown with their old rivals by battling past a stubborn Iran 1-0.
Substitute Yoon Bit Ga-ram was their extra-time hero on Saturday, cutting across the Iran box after 105 minutes of deadlock before curling the ball beautifully inside the far post.
The 20-year-old rookie’s sweet strike set up a clash with Japan tomorrow after the Japanese came from behind and a man down to defeat hosts Qatar 3-2 in their quarter-final.
“Japan have been getting better and better in every aspect in this tournament. But I have never feared Japan, even as a player, and I don’t fear them now,” said South Korea boss Cho Kwang-rae.
Kwang-rae said his team’s domination for long periods was down to winning the midfield battle, but admitted it was a concern that they created few real clear-cut chances in 120 minutes of football.
It might be that they were over-playing, he said, while also praising Iran’s dogged backline.
“The players wanted to keep giving the ball to team-mates in other areas instead of being eager to shoot themselves. That is a little bit that our players should work on for the next match,” he said.
“Iran’s defence was very strong, especially in the middle of defence. I don’t think many teams would be able to score many goals against them and if you see figures of their previous matches this is proven.”
Kwang-rae’s decision to replace four-goal Koo Ja-cheol in midfield with the inexperienced Ga-ram, the K-League Young Player of the Year, turned out to be a masterstroke.
The coach said he made the brave move because he could see Ja-cheol, 21, who has been one of the stars of the tournament so far, tiring badly – and with it South Korea were beginning to lose the midfield tussle, and possibly the game.
“We needed to control the midfield to control the game,” he said.
“Koo was tired so it was hard to control the midfield and that caused us problems towards the end of the 90 minutes. I asked Yoon to go in and control the midfield area to get control of the game back.”
Three-time Asian Cup champions Iran, who have not won the regional title since 1976, only really threatened in the second period of extra-time after going 1-0 down.
South Korea suffered several nervy moments, but Iran hardly managed to muster a decent effort on goal as the clock ticked down.
Kwang-rae was delighted with the resilience of his young side, for whom captain and Manchester United star Park Ji-sung was winning his 99th cap. Barring injury, he will win his 100th against Japan.
“To win this game with a clean sheet is the greatest thing a coach can get,” said Kwang-rae. “In general the defence was successful and in that respect I was satisfied.
“Regarding the tiredness of the players, it can happen in these tournaments but the most important thing is that the players held on until the end of the game and that was the key factor for me.
“All the players have worked really hard in all four games to show the possibilities of Korean football and the changes we are trying to implement. They have a strong will to make things happen.”
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