S. Korea reaches Asian Cup semis by defeating Uzbekistan in extra time

South Korea became the first team to advance into the Asian Cup semifinals by beating Uzbekistan through two goals in the extra time here on Thursday.

The opening quarterfinal match of AFC Asian Cup was expected to be a clash between a lean and mean defense and a fluent attack. South Korea has registered three clean sheets in the group stage, while in contrast Uzbekistan has scored in 16 of their last 17 Asian Cup finals matches. But the strikers of both sides were disappointing, instead the goalkeepers, Kim Jin-hyeon and Ignatiy Nesterov, caught the eyeballs by delivering fantastic saves.

In the 17th minute, Kim Jin-hyeon won in one-on-one with Lutfulla Turaev, Turaev did not stop the ball well and gave enough time for Kim to react; Seven minutes later, Son Heung-min let off a bullet shot in the box, Nesterow's save let his teammates relieved.

The other players seemed not have found the feeling of shot. Turaev spurned the best chance for Uzbeks to win the game in the second half. He was free in the box but his header went wide. Several minutes later, Nam Tae-hee missed Ki Sung-yueng's accurate pass when he faced the open net.

In the 14th minute of the extra time, South Korea's midfielder Son Heung-min broke the deadlock by a flying header in the box. Nesterov touched the ball but too late to save it; 15 minutes later, Son's volley shot through Cha Du-ri's pass sealed victory for the Taeguk Tigers.

These two sides have met just once before in an AFC Asian Cup Finals game - at Qatar 2011 when South Korea defeated Uzbekistan 3-2 in the third-place playoff.

South Korea will face the winner of Friday's quarterfinal clash between Iran and Iraq. Endi