Japan moved within touching distance of the knockout stage after powering to a 3-0 win over United Arab Emirates in their AFC Asian Cup S Group B tie in Saudi Arabia.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
And an indomitable Korea came from behind twice to beat Lebanon 4-2 in an high-octane Group C clash.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
Goals from Brian Nwadik, Yuto Ozeki and Shusuke Furuya secured the defending champions Japan their second victory while UAE stayed rooted on three points following the defeat.\u00a0<\/p>\n\n\n\n
UAE, who made seven changes from the starting lineup that defeated Qatar 2-0, conceded an early penalty after Ahmad Malalla tripped Yuto Ozeki inside the area.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
Unlike their opening game, where Adli Mohamed denied Qatar from the spot, the shot-stopper was unable to prevent Brian Nwadik from giving Japan the lead in the fifth minute.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
Despite Ryunosuke Sato – who netted twice in the 5-0 win against Syria sitting on the bench, Japan did not lose their fluidity as they threatened through Yuto Ozeki, who dragged his effort wide in the 13th minute before Rion Ichihara\u2019s tame shot was comfortably collected by Mohamed.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
The West Asian side found themselves going further behind in the 37th minute when Ozeki collected a pass from Kanta Sekitomi and unleashed a powerful strike into the top right corner.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
UAE, limited to only counter-attacks in the opening half, were more adventurous after the break and had their first look at goal in the 55th minute with Mayed Saeed threatening.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
The burst of pace saw Shuto Nagano seemingly bringing down Eisa Khalfan inside the box in the 63rd minute, with the referee initially pointing to the spot but the decision was overturned following a VAR review.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
Mohamed kept out Nelson Ishiwatari and Yutaka Michiwaki but the East Asian side\u2019s positive play saw Furuya finish a diving header in the 82nd minute with the goal confirmed after a VAR decision.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
Japan will face Qatar on Tuesday with UAE taking on Syria.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
Korea made up for their opening draw with Iran as they enhanced their chances of a quarter-final spot while debutants Lebanon fell to their second defeat, following their 3-2 loss to Uzbekistan.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
Settling quickly, Korea had their first look at goal in the ninth minute when Kim Han-seo combined well with Jung Seung-bae, with the former\u2019s shot from the edge of the area taking a deflection and bouncing off to the left of the post.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
The opening goal, however, came at the other end four minutes later when an unmarked Leonardo Shahin latched onto a Mohammad Safwan cross and side-footed the ball past Hong Seong-min.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
An undeterred Korea Republic pressed on, with Kang Seong-jin forcing keeper Anthony Maassry to parry his curling effort before they equalised in the 20th minute when skipper Lee Hyun-yong rose highest to power home his header off a corner by Kim Han-seo.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
Kang and Shin Min-ha both saw their attempts swerve off target before Maassry pulled off another save from Jung to close a first half largely dominated by the East Asian side. <\/p>\n\n\n\n
Lebanon stunned their opponents three minutes after the break when captain Ali El Fadl collected the ball at the edge of the box and drilled his shot into the right hand corner past a lunging Hong. <\/p>\n\n\n\n
Korea Republic again rose to the challenge, and again off a corner, when second-half substitute Jeong Jae-Sang\u2019s 65th-minute close range header went past a heavily-guarded goalmouth and into the top right corner.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
The 2020 champions took the lead for the first time six minutes later when Kang unleashed a first-time volley from the edge of the six-yard box after connecting with Kim Do-hyun\u2019s cutback from the byline.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
They widened their advantage in the 76th minute, an unguarded Kim Tae-won slamming the ball from the centre of the box past Maassry after picking up another cutback, this time from Lee Geon-hee.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
Korea Republic will meet 2018 champions Uzbekistan on Tuesday in what is expected to be a cracking affair while Lebanon take on Islamic Republic of Iran.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"
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