Asian Cup Quarter Final Match: Lee Kang-In Goal the Difference for South Korea Over Japan

The following article provides an oversight for matches and tournaments taking place in 2020.

Asian Cup Quarter Final Match: Japan v South Korea

Lee Kang-In Goal the Difference for South Korea Over Japan

January 21st, 2020

Japan 0 South Korea 1

 

Lee Kang-In’s goal saw South Korea defeat Japan in a tight contest, earning a place in the final four in the Asian Cup.

 

For Japan, Kota Watanabe came into the side and Shinji Okazaki returned from injury into the side to replace Nagai.

 

South Korea had an early chance go begging as the Japanese defence stood near the goal line and kept it from entering the goal area.

 

The Koreans tried for a second time to work down to the by-line near the edge of the 6-yard box, only this time for Shuichi Gonda to close down the shot.

 

Japan’s defence held firm until Lee Kang-In shot from near the edge of the box along the ground and out of Gonda’s reach.

 

South Korea then had answers as Japan tried crossing into their strikers, with the Korean defence winning every aerial battle in the box. Watanabe had a shot blocked at the end of the first half, the only real likelihood that Japan were going to get beyond the Korean back four.

 

South Korean then had possession of a good portion of the second half. Their shifts around the field led to another effort by Lee Kang-In, only for Gonda to save his header and the Japanese to clear.

 

Late in the match, Lee Kang-In ran onto a through ball and shot. Again, Gonda was up to the task.

 

Nevertheless, South Korea held on to reach the Semi Finals, while Japan will rue their loss in the first game of the tournament against the UAE that made them switch to this side of the draw, especially seeing how much easier the UAE’s half of the knockout matches will be for them. Only a 23rd-minute goal separated the two sides. That separation sees South Korea taking on either Australia or Iran in the first Semi Final.

 

Important aspects of the match:

Only one shot on target for Japan for the whole match.

Japan’s best: Gonda in goals with four saves; Hiroki Sakai in central defence with most tackles overall, three key clearances, two intercepts and a block; Sho Sasaki at right back.

Watanabe with the most passes overall.

Naomichi Ueda and Musashi Suzuki with most dribble attempts for Japan; Ueda with three key clearances and an intercept.

 

South Korea’s best: Na Sangho in central defence with four key clearances, two intercepts and the block on Watanabe’s shot; Lee Kang-In with his goal and two other shots on target and equal most passes for South Korea alongside Son Heung-Min as well as most dribbles overall; Kim Seung-Gyu as goalkeeper; Lee Jae-Sung at right midfield.