Abu Dhabi: Son Heung-min made his first and much-awaited AFC Asian Cup UAE 2019 appearance on Wednesday as Korea Republic beat China PR 2-0 to make it three wins from three and claim top spot in Group C.
With both teams already through to the competition’s knockout phase, Son, who arrived in the Emirates earlier this week after being released by Tottenham Hotspur, captained the two-time champions of Asia as goals from Hwang Ui-jo and Kim Min-Jae saw the Taeguk Warriors set up a Round of 16 meeting against one of the best third-placed finishers from either group A, B or F in Dubai next Tuesday.
After succumbing to their first defeat of the tournament, Marcello Lippi’s Chinese side finished second in the group and will now face Thailand in Al Ain on Sunday.
The match started at a frenetic pace, with China goalkeeper Yan Junling reacting smartly to deny Hwang Ui-jo in quick succession and Kim Min-jae heading Son’s corner narrowly wide on eight minutes.
As Son continued to shine until his late substitution, another of his corners resulted in Hwang Hee-chan sending a header agonisingly wide of Yan’s far post to leave the score unchanged and both sides reflecting on their contrasting fortunes ahead of the next round.
In the other game, a superb hat-trick from Vitalij Lux gave Kyrgyz Republic their first ever AFC Asian Cup win, and a fighting chance of appearing in the tournament’s knockout stage as the Central Asians defeated the Philippines 3-1 at Rashid Stadium on Wednesday.
Lux scored once in the first half, and twice in the second to seal a historic, and crucial three points for Alexander Krestinin’s side, who finished third in Group C behind Korea Republic and China PR.
While Kyrgyz Republic must wait another 24 hours to discover if they are one of the four third-placed teams to advance to the Round of 16, the Azkals fate has been sealed, with three successive defeats bringing their campaign to an end, although Stephan Shröck did make history by scoring their maiden AFC Asian Cup goal. Both the game saw entralling crowds cheering for their teams. (Agencies)
