South Korea claimed the third place in the 2007 Asian Cup after overcoming Japan in an impressive match which will be remembered for long. South Korea had to fight intensely for 120 minutes before defeating Japan through an equally intense penalty shootout. The glory is even more rewarding since Korea is down to ten men after the 56^th minute. South Korea remained to be the only team who had to do three consecutive penalty shootouts in three matches.

The match represented the rivalry between the two nations hinted by the intense fight fought by both teams. Japan quickly pressed down the gas and threatened Korea’s goal in the early minutes. In the seventh minutes, Yasuhiko Endo forced his way through the Korean defenders after receiving a pass from Shunsuke Nakamura and rammed the ball wide of the post. Three minutes later, Yasuhiko Endo was awarded another chance on a free kick right at the edge of Korea’s penalty box. The industrious midfielder failed again to capitalize on this chance and shot the ball directly to Lee Won Jae.

South Korea hit back six minutes later through the feet of Yeom Ki Hyun who sent a long drive which narrowly missed Japan’s post. Yeom Ki Hyun gave another test to Japan keeper, Yoshikatsu Kawaguchi a few minutes later when he fired a free kick directly to the goal from narrow angle. Kawaguchi managed to punch the ball for a corner to the relief of the Japanese. On the 40^th minute, Kim Do Heon fired another shot which was saved again by Kawaguchi through a spectacular effort.

It was Japan who almost ended the dead lock when Yuki Nakazawa was free to fire a shot to Korea’s goal. Lee Won Jae saved the ball with one hand before the defender whacked the ball away to safety. The intense atmosphere in the first half did not continue past the 56^th minute where Kang Min Soo was sent off by the referee. The Koreans seemed unable to attack afterward and focused their efforts in repelling Japan’s attempts to score a goal. Naotake Hanyu was denied a golden chance in the 73^rd minute where his fierce drive was superbly blocked by Lee Won Jae. Won Jae was the hero last night when he parried Sato’s unexpected back heel kick from a very close range afterward. The penalty shootout went on and on without any missed penalties. All the five executors from both teams did the job well before Naotake Hanyu who took the 6^th penalty shot failed to defeat Lee Won Jae. South Korea v Japan ended 6-5.