Asian Cup Matches 31 and 32: China Only Group D Side To Bow Out

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

Asian Cup Matches 31 and 32: Palestine v South Korea and China v Oman

China Only Group D Side To Bow Out

January 13th, 2020

Palestine 1 South Korea 3

 

South Korea, Oman and Palestine have progressed from Group D to the knockout stages as China finishes bottom of the group after their second draw.

 

As South Korea looked to secure for top spot, Lee Kang-In was brought into the side for the East Asians, and Mohammed Yamin came in for the Palestinians.

 

Yamin had an immediate impact as he passed the ball to Yashir Pinto, who cut back from left wing to hit the right-hand post and open the scoring.

 

Pinto and Yamin then set up Sameh Maraaba, whose shot required a Kim Seung-Gyu save. From the corner, Abdullah Jaber took a shot from long range, also requiring a save by Kim Seung-Gyu.

 

Maraaba, as the first half deepened, overcame a one-on-two situation along the left wing. He crossed into Islam Batran in spite of being fouled. Batran’s header forced Kim Seung-Gyu’s fist-away save. Pinto aimed for the open goal, only to miss to the right with his volley.

 

After the break, South Korea got their first real attempt via Son Heung-Min, only for the long-range shot to fly wide.

 

Son Heung-Min then set up Nam Tae-Hee with a beautiful through ball and he made no mistake, equalising the match.

 

Minutes later, Son Heung-Min set up Kim Min Jae, and he also hit the ball first time, giving the South Koreans the lead.

 

A crucial yellow card given to Hwang In-Beom set about a series of substitutes.

 

Hwang In-Beom put Lee Kang-In in a great position to score, only the Palestinian goalkeeper was up to the task. From the corner, substitute Ji Dong-Won scored with his head, putting the game beyond any doubt.

 

Lee Kang-In had another opportunity, only his volley fell to the right of goal.

 

Another chance came the way of Ji Dong-Won, only for the header to be saved. Still, South Korea can rest assured they have found ways to goal and into first place in Group D, particularly after a poor first half.

 

Palestine’s best afield: Pinto with his goal and with equal most tackles for Palestine; Yamin with his assist and most passes/successful dribbles for Palestine; Musab Al-Battat at right back with the constant pressure from Son Heung-Min with equal most tackles for Palestine, three intercepts and a clearance.

Batran and Mohammed Rashid with equal most tackles for Palestine.

Abdellatif Al-Bahdari with four key clearances and two intercepts.

 

South Korea’s best afield: Son Heung-Min with two assists and equal successful dribbles for the match; Nam Tae-Hee with a goal, most tackles overall and most passes and equal successful dribbles for the match; Kim Seung-Gyu with five saves; Lee Yong at right back with an assist.

Na Sangho with three key clearances, an intercept and a block.

Jung Woo-Young with four key intercepts and four clearances.

 

China 0 Oman 0

 

In the other match, Oman held on to a draw and claim second spot in Group D. China brought in Liu Yang into defensive midfielder role since Chi Zhongguo had not totally recovered from the last match. Jameel Al-Yahmadi came into the starting eleven on the left wing for Oman.

 

Muhsen Al-Ghassani won the ball away from the Chinese defence early and set up Mohsin Al-Khaldi, only for the Chinese goalkeeper, Yan Junling, to parry the ball to safety. China countered and won a free kick, though Elkeson’s shot flew way above the goals.

 

Yang Xu also fired well over the goal in the 23rd minute, giving Oman a sigh of relief as they played more defensively. Seventeen minutes later, he had another attempt, only to shoot to the left of goal.

 

Oman raised their attacking game right at the end of the half, only for the Chinese defence to hold firm, particularly with Al-Khaldi’s shots being blocked.

 

After the break, Elkeson’s shot dropped straight into the arms of Ali Al Habsi.

 

A yellow card went to Wu Xi after a foul in the middle of the park. Elkeson’s header also brought an athletic save by Al Habsi.

 

Zheng Zheng had a shot blocked by the Omani defence after his teammates passed the ball to him from a deep corner.

 

Yu Hanchao had both shots saved after looking like he would score at least one of them, giving Oman hope at still making it to the Round of 16. Oman’s defence held on as they gained a crucial fourth point, while China ended up last with only the two draws.

 

China’s best afield: Zheng Zheng again at left back; Elkeson with four shots but only two on target and five key tackles; Zhang Linpeng with three key clearances, an intercept and a block.

Wu Lei with equal most passes for the match and most dribbles for the match.

Zhu Chenjie with four key clearances, three intercepts and a block.

 

Oman’s best afield: Al Habsi with five saves; Mohammed Al-Musalami in central defence; Mohammed Al-Ghassani; Saad Al Mukhaini at right back with equal most passes for the match and equal most dribbles for Oman.

Ahmed Mubarak with equal most passes for the match.

Harib Al-Saadi with equal most dribbles for Oman.

Muhsen Al-Ghassani with the most tackles for Oman.

 

Group D

Oman will take on the Winners of Group E, who we will find out tomorrow, though it is likely to be Iraq. South Korea takes on the third-placed team from either B, E or F on January 17th. Palestine also progress since Kyrgyzstan and India are lower than them in the other third place positions but will have to improve their game immensely. They await tomorrow’s four games to determine their Round of 16 opponent, either the hosts UAE or Australia.

 

 

	Group D	Pl	W	D	L	Pts	GD
1	South Korea	3	2	1	0	7	+4
2	Oman	3	1	1	1	4	-1
3	Palestine	3	1	0	2	3	-2
4	China	3	0	2	1	2	-1