Saudis stop Uzbeks, Korea make Iran pay

Yasser Al Qahtani scored one goal and created a second as Saudi Arabia held on to beat Uzbekistan 2-1 on Sunday and progressed to the Asian Cup semi-finals.

Yasser Al Qahtani scored one goal and created a second as Saudi Arabia held on to beat Uzbekistan 2-1 on Sunday and progressed to the Asian Cup semi-finals. The three-time winners appeared to have sealed the victory 72 minutes after Ahmed Al Mousa made it 2-0, but had to withstand a late Uzbekistan rally that saw Pavel Solomin pull one back and Alexander Geynrikh hit the post.

The victory means Saudi Arabia will play Japan on Wednesday in Hanoi, Vietnam, for a place in the final.

Earlier in the day, captain Lee Woon-jae made two crucial saves in the shootout as South Korea advanced to the semi-finals with a win on penalties over Iran. After a scoreless 120 minutes, including two periods of extra time, Kim Jung-woo slotted his spot kick to seal the Koreans a 4-2 win in the shootout and a place in the next round against Iraq.

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Lee’s save against Mahdavikia kept South Korea’s 2-1 lead in the shootout which swung the balance in his team’s favour.

Iran’s substitute goalkeeper Vahid Taleblou saved the next to keep the margin at 2-1 but Lee made another save on Rasoul Khatabi’s effort at 3-2 to set up the win. Kim calmly finished it off.