Asian Games football: Malaysia stun champions South Korea
Malaysia's Mohd Rizal Mohd Ghazali (left) and teammate Dominic Tan celebrate after they defeated South Korea 2-1 at the 18th Asian Games at Si Jalak Harupat Stadium in Bandung on Friday (Aug 17). (Photo: AP)
BANDUNG: Tottenham Hotspur star Son Heung-min came on as a second-half substitute but it was not enough to prevent South Korea from slipping to a shock 1-2 defeat to Malaysia at the Asian Games on Friday (Aug 17).
A brace from Johor Darul Taz’im forward Safawi Rasid was enough to see Ong Kim Swee’s men take the three points as South Korea failed to build on their opening 6-0 win over Bahrain.
Hwang Ui-jo struck in the 88th minute to give the South Koreans a glimmer of hope but it was too little too late for the Asian Games defending champions.
Son also had a golden chance to equalise with a free-kick just outside the box in the last minute, but he placed it inches wide of the post.
Malaysia, 114 places lower than their opponents in the FIFA rankings, were happy to sit deep and play on the break, and frustrated the South Koreans further with frequent stoppages.
Spurs gave Son special permission to play at the Asian Games, where South Korean players can expect to be exempted from 21-month compulsory military service if they win the gold medal in football.
But now, his side will need to win their next game against Kyrgyzstan to be sure of advancing to the next round.
Malaysia, who top Group E with two wins from two games, are already through. South Korea sit in second with three points.
Get the widest coverage of the 18th Asian Games (Aug 18 – Sep 2) from Jakarta and Palembang, Indonesia on Mediacorp. Go to toggle.sg/AsianGames2018 for details.
