Match Report:-: Kuwait 0 vs 1 South Korea

Augsburg attacker Koo Ja-cheol netted the only goal of
the game to help South Korea to a 1-0 away win over
Kuwait on Thursday.

Koo Ja-cheol helped South Korea to a vital 1-0 World Cup
qualifying win over Kuwait, a victory which opened up a three-
point lead over their hosts.

Both sides went into Thursday's game in Kuwait City with a
perfect record, having won their opening three fixtures in Group
G, each without conceding a goal.

However, Koo's powerful header saw Uli Stielike's side
move clear of their rivals at the halfway stage of the group.

The away side dominated proceedings early on and opened the
scoring after just 12 minutes when Koo headed home a cross
from the left.

Kuwait came close to levelling the scoring on a number of
occasions, yet their profligacy in front of goal saw them
leave empty handed.

South Korea were the better side of the two in the opening
stages of the game and were rewarded for their good start inside
quarter of an hour.

Park Joo-ho collected the ball down the left after a superb team
move and the Borussia Dortmund man sent in a sublime cross
for Koo, who beat his marker to the ball before planting a
thumping header into the net.

Kuwait then slowly got into the game and first threatened in the
17th minute. Ali Al Maqseed curled in a dangerous free-kick for
his attackers, but visiting goalkeeper Kim Seung-gyu rushed off
his line to collect the ball before one of the Kuwaiti forwards
could connect.

Bader Al Mutawa got a chance to level the scoring shortly
before the half-time whistle, yet the experienced attacker
hesitated too long, allowing Park to track back and deflect his
attempt wide for a corner.

Suk Hyun-jun should have doubled the lead immediately after
the restart after escaping the offside trap, but the striker’s left-
footed effort went narrowly wide after he evaded Kuwait captain
Musaed Neda's last-ditch tackle.

The Koreans got another chance to make it two close to the
hour mark when the referee awarded them a free-kick on the
edge of the area, only for Kwon Chang-hoon to blast his shot
into the wall.
Youssef Nasser should have levelled the scoring in the 65th
minute when he chested down a fine ball from the right, but the
substitute volleyed wildly off-target from five yards out.

Koo and Kwon both got big chances to put the match to bed, but
failed to add a second as South Korea had to settle for a 1-0 win
that puts them in a strong position at the group's summit.