The Korean national men's soccer team defeated Saudi Arabia 1-0, entering the Round of 16 in the football competition at the Incheon Asian Games.
During the second Group A match, at the Wa Stadium in Ansan, Gyeonggi-do (Gyeonggi Province), on September 17, Kim Seung-dae scored the winning goal against the strong squad from the Middle East, bringing a sweet victory to his side. With this consecutive win after beating Malaysia 3-0 on September 14, Korea will now enter the Round of 16, regardless of the result in its final match against Laos scheduled for September 21.
Lee Yong-jae (middle) fights for the ball during the Group A match between Korea and Saudi Arabia at the Wa Stadium in Ansan on September 17. (photo: Yonhap News)
The Korean team used a 4-4-2 formation with Kim Shin-wook and Kim Seung-dae positioned as center forwards. Yun Il-lok and Kim Young-uk played as wingers.
Saudi Arabia drove Korea hard with speed and individual skill in the beginning, but Korea never lost its control of the game. At the seven minutes mark, Kim Seung-dae passed his opponents and faced the goalie alone, but to no avail. Four minutes later, Kim scored the first and only goal off of a corner kick. Kim and Yun got a touch on the ball and Kim sent a long shot from the left side of the penalty area. The ball ricocheted off an opponent's foot and shook the back of the net.
At the 74th minute, Kim Young-wook got the ball off a free kick, obtained because of a foul on the other side, but the ball hit the crossbar. Despite the aggressive Saudi play, Korea continued to press its opponent. There were no more goals and the Korean team was able to maintain its lead until the 90th minute.
With its two consecutive wins, Korea has now earned six points, giving the country a lead in the Group A tables, while Malaysia, Saudi Arabia and Laos have three, three and zero points each.
The Korean team had 14 shots on goal, six of which were stopped by the Saudi goaltender.