South Korea pay penalty as Japan reach Asian Cup final
Japan 2* South Korea 2 (Pens. 3-0) (Asian Cup semi-finals, January 25, 2011) Ki Sung-Yueng gave South Korea the lead via a disputed penalty midway through the first half, before Ryoichi Maeda equalised for Japan after a fantastic move 13 minutes later. Substitute Hajime Hosogai thought he had won the match for Japan after he powered home a rebound after Korean goalkeeper Jung Sung-ryong had saved Keisuke Hondas tame penalty in the 97th minute. But Hwang Jae-won scored in the final minute of extra time to force the shootout after the Korean defender lashed home after a goalmouth scramble. In the shoot-out, centre-back Yasuyuki Konno netted the decisive penalty, placing the ball into the right-hand side of the goal, after Koo Ja-Cheol, Lee Yong-Rae and Hong Jeong-Ho had all failed from 12 yards for South Korea.
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