Heavyweights collide at Asian Cup as Japan take on minnows

South Korea's Lee Dong-Gook gestures after scoring against Kuwait. South Korea and Iran collide in a heavyweight Asian Cup quarter-final showdown Saturday as champions Japan seek to find their scoring touch against defence-minded minnows Jordan.

South Korea and Iran collide in a heavyweight Asian Cup quarter-final showdown Saturday as champions Japan seek to find their scoring touch against defence-minded minnows Jordan.

On paper, World Cup semi-finalists South Korea and Iran's last eight tie in Jinan is the match of the tournament so far and is a repeat of the two teams' epic meeting at the 2000 tournament.

In Tripoli four years ago, South Korea upset the fancied Iranians by equalising in the last minute of normal time before claiming a 2-1 victory with a golden goal from striker Lee Dong-Gook.

Lee's three goals in China have put him on top of the standings once again, a remarkable turnaround after injury and poor form saw him cast into the international wilderness after Lebanon.

"My form is getting better with every game," said Lee. "As long as we keep winning, the goals will come."

Iran will be missing defenders Rahman Rezaei and Ali Badavi, banned for two matches for their slap-fight during the 2-2 draw with Oman, and Mohammed Nosrati, booted out of the tournament for a vicious stamp in the same game.

But Iran coach Branko Ivankovic believes his team have been galvanised by their disciplinary problems and reckons Korea are inferior to their final group opponents Japan, with whom they drew 0-0 on Wednesday.

"South Korea beat Kuwait 4-0 but I think they are not as good as the Japan team," he said. "If we can play as well as we played against Japan I don't think the match against South Korea will be a problem.

"They have a new coach and it's given the team a new spirit but we should not have a problem. Although South Korea's strikers are better than Japan, that shouldn't be a problem."

Japan meanwhile will have to overcome a Jordan side that has indicated it plans to play for a draw, hoping to take the match to penalties.

The Jordanians have scrapped through to the last eight in only their first ever appearance, relying on a defensive style that has seen them branded "the Greece of Asia".

Coach Mahmoud Al-Gohary happily accepts comparisons between Jordan and the shock Euro 2004 champions, but is not bothered by criticism that his side are boring.

Jordan, who will be cheered on again by the country's football fanatic monarch King Abdullah II, have scored only twice in three matches so far and reached the quarter-finals with a dour 0-0 against the United Arab Emirates.

"We have been practicing our penalties in training this week, because I'm planning to play defensively and hopefully to get a draw," Egyptian coach Al-Gohary told journalists.

"I know very well that this match will not be easy but we want to prove that we are not here by chance. Our goal before the tournament was to reach the quarter-finals. We want to prove that we have every right to be here."

Against a full-strength Japan, Jordan's gameplan would be fraught with danger. But the champions have seen the creative heart of the team ripped out by injuries or absenteeism caused by the Athens Olympics.

The three best attacking midfielders in Japan -- captain Hidetoshi Nakata, Junichi Inamoto and Shinji Ono -- are all missing. Not surprisingly, Japan have struggled to find the net.

Though they scored four times against a weak Thailand side, they were made to work hard by Oman for a 1-0 win and finished with the Iran stalemate.

"The Jordan match will be difficult for us, they have surprised many in the tournament and they tied South Korea," Japan's Shunsuke Nakamura said.

"If we can score a goal in the first 10 minutes of the match, then I think we can win the game."

Winning Group D has seen the draw open up invitingly for Japan, who will face a semi-final against either Bahrain or Uzbekistan next Tuesday if they can negotiate the Jordanians.