China News Service, Beijing, January 31 (Xinhua) On January 30, local time, the Qatar Asian Cup will have two more top eight seats. The Uzbekistan team defeated the Thailand team 2:1 and will challenge the host Qatar team in the next game; the South Korean team tied with the Saudi team 1:1 in regular time, and finally eliminated the opponent 4:2 in the penalty shootout, with a total score of 5:3 to advance. In the Asian Cup quarter-finals, they will next play against the Australian team.
The Thai team performed well in the group stage, drawing with the powerful Saudi team and qualifying as second in the group. Thailand's new coach Ishii Masatada expressed satisfaction with the team's performance in the group stage, saying "this is a small success." Facing the Uzbekistan team, the Thai team does not have an advantage in the head-to-head record, but it still hopes to "create suspense" in the game.
In the 18th minute of the game, the Uzbekistan team successfully penetrated through the pass, but in the end the shot missed. In the 37th minute, the Uzbek team made a comeback. Turgunboyev received a long pass from his teammate and scored with a sweep in the penalty area, helping the team take a 1:0 lead.
The Thai team then responded in kind. In the 58th minute, the Thai team made continuous cooperation. Subachu kicked a beautiful curved ball from outside the penalty area and broke through the opponent's goal to equalize the score. In the 65th minute, Fezulayev hit the ground with a kick from outside the penalty area. The ball hit the dead center and Uzbekistan took the lead again. The Thai team then stepped up its attack, but failed to achieve anything, and the score of 2:1 remained until the end.
With the elimination of the Thai team, teams from Southeast Asia bid farewell to this Asian Cup. Although the young Thai team failed to go further, the progress they showed left a deep impression on the outside world.
In another focus game, the two favorites South Korea and Saudi Arabia met. In the 41st minute, the Saudi team took advantage of a corner kick opportunity to hit a "three-hit" header, but the ball hit the crossbar twice and slid out the last time. At the beginning of the second half, Saudi Arabia player Radif, who came on as a substitute, scored a lightning goal.
The South Korean team, which was one goal behind, continued to strengthen its offensive. In the 9th minute of stoppage time in the second half, Cho Kyu-sung scored with a header to tie the game and drag the game into overtime. In overtime, the Saudi team's goalkeeper showed bravery and blocked several inevitable goals from the South Korean team, and the game entered a penalty shootout.
In the penalty shootout, South Korean goalkeeper Cho Hyun-woo became the key to the team's victory. He saved the opponent's penalty twice and helped the team win 4:2 in the penalty shootout. Next, the South Korean team will face another Australian team, which is the favorite to win the championship. (over)