Hong Kong knocks out ‘powerhouse’ Iran to reach the quarterfinals.
The Hong Kong men’s football team advanced to the quarterfinals of the Hangzhou 2022 Asian Games with a 1-0 victory over Iran in the men’s football quarterfinals at the Shangcheng Sports Center in Hangzhou, China, at 8:30 p.m. ET today.
Iran, who finished first in Group B with two wins and a draw, punched their ticket to the quarterfinals with a 2-0 victory over third-place Thailand in the Round of 16. Their quarterfinal opponents are Hong Kong, who finished second in Group C and advanced to the Round of 16 with a 1-0 victory over Group D runner-up Palestine.
Both teams played a frustrating first half that ended 0-0. Iran had the majority of the offensive initiative, but Hong Kong had a poor offensive performance, with neither Iran nor Hong Kong registering a single shot on goal.
Hong Kong came out firing in the second half. Two minutes into the second half, Hong Kong’s Pun Pui-hin scored the opening goal to give Hong Kong a 1-0 lead.
Hong Kong took off midfielder Wong Ho-chun in the 17th minute of the second half to bring on defender Jordan Lam. In the 23rd minute of the second half, Iran took off midfielder Gholamreza Sabet Imani and brought on a striker.
Still, Iran was unable to break through the Hong Kong defense. Hong Kong continued to break up Iran’s attacks with fouls and refused to let up.
In the 40th minute, Iran made three substitutions in a last-ditch effort to find one last goal. However, they were unable to find the back of the net and the game ended with a 1-0 victory for Hong Kong.
On the other side of the world, Japan secured a spot in the quarterfinals with a 2-1 victory over North Korea. Japan took the lead in the fifth 메이저사이트 minute of the second half when Kotaro Uchino headed home a low left-footed cross from Sato Kane after a chest trap in the middle of the park.
North Korea tied the game at 1-1 in the 28th minute on a left-footed shot by Kim Kuk-bum from the arc circle.
However, in the 33rd minute, North Korean goalkeeper Kang Joo-hyuk caught Japanese forward Jun Nishikawa in the box, conceding a penalty kick. Japan’s Yuta Matsumura stepped up to the spot kick and rattled the left post to give Japan the lead again, 2-1, in the 35th minute.