DOHA, Qatar (AP) - Defending champion Iraq set up an Asian Cup quarterfinal against Australia by claiming second place in its group with a 1-0 win over North Korea on Wednesday.
Iraq needed only a draw to advance but made sure of its progress with all three points thanks to Kerrar Jasim's 22nd-minute winner.
Iran had already wrapped up top spot in Group D with two wins so coach Afshin Ghotbi was able to field several reserve players against the United Arab Emirates, but his side still cantered to a 3-0 win in a game featuring a red card for each side. Ghotbi's side will meet South Korea in Saturday's fourth quarterfinal, which follows Iraq vs. Australia. North Korea, which qualified for last year's World Cup, and the UAE will head home without scoring a goal in Qatar. It will be the fifth straight time Iran and South Korea have met in an Asian Cup quarterfinal. They have two wins each.
"I always look forward to South Korea-Iran," Ghotbi said. "Without that matchup it's not an Asian Cup. I expect a wonderful match." Iraq's meeting with Australia is a repeat of a 2007 group match, which Iraq surprisingly won on the way to winning its first Asian Cup title. The team's defense of that title began badly with a defeat against Iran, and Wolfgang Sidka's team relied on a last-gasp goal to beat the UAE.
However, Iraq largely controlled the match against North Korea and got the goal it deserved in the 22nd minute through Jasim after Mustafa Kareem's shot was parried by goalkeeper Ri Myung Guk.
"Our happiness is limited now, we still have a long way to go," Jasim said. "Our match against Australia will be tough.They are one of the favorites to raise the cup. "But every game we are improving and proving that we deserve to be Asia champions." The Iraqi fans who attended the match followed their team all the way back to their hotel to continue the celebrations. One of the fans, Ali Kodor, said he hoped the team would go on to win the title again because "this might make us forget some sadness and sorrow we feel at home."
In Iraq, messages were broadcast on state TV as the game wound down, warning jubilant fans to not fire celebratory gunshots in an attempt to avoid accidental injuries or even deaths in the war-torn nation. But despite those warnings, sporadic celebratory shooting in neighborhoods across Baghdad led to at least nine youths being treated for minor wounds in emergency rooms, according to medics at three different hospitals, who spoke on condition of anonymity because they were not authorized to release the information. No deaths were immediately reported.
Sidka said his team would "celebrate tonight" before beginning preparations for Saturday's match, which will pit the Iraq coach against fellow German Holger Osieck in the Australian dugout.
"My players are tired," Sidka said. "It's necessary they recover very well as they have one day less than the Australian team (which played on Tuesday). Australia are physically very strong and they have some professional, experienced players in their team."
North Korea was defensively organized, but hardly threatened the Iraq goal, and coach Jo Tong Sop said he may have to adapt his tactics in the future.
"We understand defense is important but not more important than everything else," he said. "We got good experience at this tournament and we'll try to make our game more attacking in the future."
Iran's win over the UAE meant it was the only side to finish the group stage with three wins from three games.
Forward Arash Afshin gave Iran the lead in the 70th minute, only to be sent off five minutes later for his second booking, but UAE's one-man advantage lasted only until defender Khalid Sebil received his second booking in the 79th.
Midfielder Mohammad Nori made it 2-0 in the 83rd before UAE defender Walid Abbas netted his second own goal of the tournament to complete the scoring in injury time. Abbas scored Iraq's winner in the 90th minute in the previous game.
The Emirates team finished with two losses and one draw, and no goals.
"We had some near misses, we had many shots on goals, we hit the post a couple of times," Katanec said. "We played in a very strong group; there is nothing wrong, we played good football several times."
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