(Asiad) Idle S. Korea reach quarterfinals in men's football
NAGOYA, Japan, Sept. 18 (Yonhap) -- South Korea clinched a spot in the quarterfinals of the men's football tournament at the Asian Games on Friday without even playing.
Saudi Arabia helped South Korea's cause by beating Qatar 2-0 in their Group D match Friday at Nagoya City Mizuho Park Rugby Field in Nagoya, central Japan.
Group D is the only group out of four to feature only three teams, with South Korea being the other. South Korea opened the tournament with a 4-1 win over Qatar on Tuesday, behind Eom Ji-sung's first-half hat trick.
South Korean players celebrate their 4-1 win over Qatar in the teams' Group D match of the men's football tournament at the Asian Games at Nagoya City Mizuho Park Rugby Field in Nagoya, Japan, on Sept. 15, 2026. (Yonhap)
The top two teams from each of the four groups are moving on to the quarterfinals. And Qatar, by losing both of their matches, assured themselves of last place, allowing South Korea and Saudi Arabia to grab tickets to the quarterfinals before their match against each other in Nagoya at 7 p.m. Tuesday.
The winner of that showdown will win Group D and face the Group C runner-up in the quarterfinals at 7:30 p.m. next Friday. The Group D runner-up will meet the Group C winner at 2 p.m. next Friday. Both matches will be at Nagoya City Mizuho Park Rugby Field.
Group C teams are: Uzbekistan, Vietnam, Kuwait and the Philippines. Uzbekistan have clinched a knockout berth by winning their first two matches and will play Vietnam on Tuesday with the top seed at stake.
Coached by Lee Min-sung, the under-23 Taegeuk Warriors are trying to win a fourth straight Asiad gold for South Korea.
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