Koo and Ji through to last 16 of Asian Cup

FCA boys Ja-Cheol Koo and Dong-Won Ji have reached the last 16 of the Asian Cup with South Korea. The ‘Taeguk Warriors’ narrowly beat Kyrgyzstan 1-0 in the second group game, booking their place in the knockout stages. South Korea made hard work of their second Asian Cup game in Al-Ain against a technically poor but well-organised Kyrgyzstan side. They clearly had the upper-hand in the game, but were not clinical enough in the final third. Only in the 41st minute did Min-Jae Kim score the long-overdue opening goal from a corner. After the restart, the Koreans continued to create the far better of the chances and were denied on multiple occasions by the woodwork. At the other end, the Kyrgyzstanis failed to take advantage of numerous lapses in concentration by South Korea’s defence, allowing Paulo Bento’s side to go on and win the game by just one goal. Ji celebrates Asian Cup debut Ja-Cheol Koo was in the starting XI once again and was taken off in the 63rd minute. Dong-Won Ji came on in the 82nd minute to see out the win and get his first ever taste of Asian Cup football. South Korea now sit joint top of Group C along with China on six points. The two teams, both already through to the last 16, will face each other in the final group game on Wednesday the 16th January to decide who wins the group.