IKOLI VICTOR DOHA

QATAR lost to South Korea in a Group A match of Asia’s final round qualifier of the 2014 World Cup at the Al Sadd Stadium in Doha, on Friday. South Korea won the match by 4-1.

Qatar is still looking for its first ticket to the World Cup finals finals and a win over the South Koreans could have put them in a right frame of mind for the remaining matches in the grueling year-long campaign. Qatar had begun its campaign on a promising note by defeating Lebanon 1-0 in a away match last week.

South Koreans, the Group A top seed, came from behind with an inspiring performance to cancel Qatar’s 22nd minute lead. Al Sadd’s Yousef Ahmad Ali scored the opening goal.

Within four minutes, Lee Keun Ho scored the equaliser for South Korea after he managed to get the ball off a cross from the brilliant Kim Bo Kyung and to put the ball into the net.

South Korea scored its second goal in the 56th minute when defender Kwak Tae Hwi headed home a corner kick to beat the helpless Burhan. The towering Kim Shin Wook made it three for South Korea in the 64th minute, when he unleashed a low shot into the bottom corner from the edge of the box. With ten minutes to regulation time, Lee Keun Ho scored his second goal of the match to make it 4-1. A corner was dealt with very poorly by the Qatari defence line allowing the striker a free header from that range.

South Korea moves to the top of the table with three points from one match played, followed by Iran that had earlier beaten Uzbekistan also on three points.

Qatar stays third in the group with three points but with an inferior goals difference after two matches.

Qatar started the match in style with its neat passes and should have scored as early as the eighth minute, if Sebastian Soria’s freekick from a goal scoring position was well taken. Also, the Koreans came close to opening the score in the 11th minute with a left footed effort from Kim Bo Kyung that forced goalkeeper Burhan to make a save with his foot. However, Qatar took the lead with a blistering run off the right flank by Yusef when he outpaced and muscled his way past Kwak Tae Hwi to shoot the ball that squeezed its way into the net.

Three Qatari players were received yellow cards. Coach Paulo Autuori made a substitution too late when he introduced Mohammed Razak for Mesaad al Hamad in the 70th minute.