(2nd LD) (Asiad) S. Korea reach men's football final

NAGOYA, Japan, Sept. 30 (Yonhap) -- South Korea rallied past China 2-1 to move on to the gold medal in men's football at the Aichi-Nagoya Asian Games on Wednesday.

Lee Young-jun and Bae Jun-ho scored a goal apiece for the under-23 men's national team in the semifinals at Nagai Stadium in Osaka, some 140 kilometers west of the main host city Nagoya, as South Korea moved within a victory of winning their fourth straight gold medal.

In Saturday's gold medal match, South Korea will face Japan, the third straight Asiad final between the two rivals. South Korea defeated Japan 2-1 in each of the past two gold medal contests. Japan knocked off Uzbekistan 9-8 on penalties in the semifinals.

The final will kick off at 7:30 p.m. Saturday at Toyota Stadium in Toyota, some 50 kilometers east of Nagoya.

Wang Yudong scored first for China in the 22nd minute after fending off several South Korean set-piece opportunities. As Mao Weijie floated a pass toward the box from the middle of the field, Wang sprinted behind the napping South Korean defense and let the ball bounce off his chest before scoring off his left foot.

Lee pulled South Korea even with a header goal in the 33rd minute, set up by Eom Ji-sung's corner.

Lee, who joined the national team a few days after his teammates due to his commitment with his Swiss club Grasshopper, has now scored three goals in the past two matches.

"Physically, I am trying to get better," Lee said. "But the fact that I am scoring goals means I am in pretty good form right now.

"I am 100 percent confident we will win the gold medal. This is not the time to say anything negative," Lee continued. "Our goal is clear. We will go into the match thinking there is not a chance we will lose that one. And it doesn't matter whether I score or not as long as we win."

South Korea struggled against physical Chinese defense for most of the match and dodged a bullet when defender Kim Ji-soo nearly headed a Chinese cross into his own goal in the 79th minute.

Then in the 82nd minute, Bae netted the go-ahead marker for South Korea, with Eom once again being the setup man. Eom sent a well-placed cross from outside the left edge of the box, and Bae redirected it with his head for the 2-1 lead that South Korea did not relinquish.

"I had not been happy with the way I had been playing, and I am glad I finally scored one," Bae said, after being held off the board in the previous three matches. "This is one of the happiest moments of my life. Now we have one more match to go. Even if I don't get to score one myself, I will try to create space for my teammates to get it done."

South Korea head coach Lee Min-sung gave kudos to his players for battling back after conceding the first goal.

"I expected a difficult match, and our players persevered," Lee said at his postmatch press conference. "I am satisfied with the way they overcame the early deficit. We have one more match to play, and we will try to recover and be ready for the match."

Lee said there was a breakdown between midfielders and center backs on the lone Chinese goal and added, "Something like that can happen in a match, and our job is to make sure we don't repeat the same mistake."

Lee's team remained shorthanded, with Celtic winger Yang Hyun-jun out with a hamstring injury and captain Lee Gi-hyuk sidelined with a foot injury.

Coach Lee said he was not sure if either player will be available for Saturday's final.

"No matter how important a competition is, our priority is to protect players if they are not 100 percent healthy," he added. "We are borrowing these players from their clubs for the national team, and we have to return them in good health."