South Korea qualified for theAsian Cup quarter-finals after beating Kuwait 4-0 in their last match in Group B at Shandong Stadium in Jinan, capital of east China's Shandong Province on July 27.

Thanks to two goals from their spearhead Lee Dong Gook, South Korea beat Kuwait to top the group B, which ensured their stay in Jinan for the quarter-finals.

"We are very happy to qualify for the group," said South Korea Jor Bonferee at the news conference after the game, "We grabbed chances in the first half, which guaranteed our win."

Dominating the pitch from the start, the South Koreans, who knew a win would secure a quarter-final berth, broke the deadlock in the 25th minute after Lee Dong Gook made a curly shot into Kuwait's net through a free kick.

"From the beginning, We had paid more attention on defense, but unfortunately, we could not stop Korea's conquering, and lost our game." said Kuwait assistant coach Al Shmary.

Lee, the leading scorer with six goals of the previous Asian cup four years ago in Lebanon, scored for South Korea again in the41st minute after a dazzling cooperation with his teammates.

"After taking the lead, we did not change our tactics, and kept on giving pressure to our opponents' defense, our work got paid off," added Bonferee.

Cha Doo Ri, who came to the pitch not as a routine substitute but a starter, paid their Dutch coach Jor Bonferee's trust back by boosting South Korea's lead to 3-0 at the end of the first half through a beautiful shot after dancing past the ferocious defense of Kuwait.

Kuwait, who defeated South Korea 1-0 in the previous Asian Cup,looked more desperate to challenge their rivals after walking out off the resting room, but found their hard work was all denied by South Korea goalkeeper Lee Woon Zai, who kept this year's Asian Cup record of losing no goals in three games.

"I think our players would benefit from this game, it was a good lesson for us, we are a young team, there are lots of things we need to learn in the future," said Al Shmary. Ahn Jung Hwan, the striker who scored the goal that eliminated Italy and sent South Korea into the 2002 World Cup semifinals, came into the pitch after substituting Cha Doo Ri in the early second half, and sent South Korean fans into a frenzy by shooting a long distance ball into Kuwait's low net in the 65th minute to wrap up South Korean's victory.

Source: Xinhua