Goalkeeper Lee Woon-jae made two critical saves to help South Korea defeat Iran 4-2 through penalty kicks in a quarter-final match of the Asian Cup here on Sunday.
Lee made two brilliant saves as he denied in the shoot-out of Iranian captain Mehdi Mahdavikia and forward Rasoul Khatibi.
The two sides played a game of high speed and quick transition in persisting rain. The first half saw a balance game though Iran was more menacing.
Mahdavikia almost broken balance in injury time of the first half. His powerful shoot hit one South Korean defender and was deflected, narrowing passing over the bar.
Both sides made adjustments after the interval, trying to score the first. But the match entered extra time after a 0-0 draw within 90 minutes.
Iran gained slight advantage in the extra time with Javad Nekounam narrowly missing the target at the end of first half.
South Korea will stay in Malaysia to face Iraq in the semifinals, who defeated Vietnam 2-0 on Saturday.
Meanwhile, Japan will face in Vietnam the winner of the match between Saudi Arabia and Uzbekistan.
Source: Xinhua
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