- Korea Republic 1 Syria 0
- Hong Jeong-ho opens scoring
- Kim Jin-Su misses his chance
- Firas Al Khatib hits crossbar
Match Summary
Hong Jeong-ho's early strike was enough to hand the Koreans victory against Syria in their World Cup qualifying encounter on Tuesday.
Full Report
The home side got off to the best possible start and took the lead as early as the fourth minute, when Hong reacted quickest in the box from a corner and rifled home a sweet left-footed strike.
Syria immediately upped the tempo of their attacks, but a mixture of good defending by Korea and wasteful-finishing by the visitors ensured the scoreline remained the same.
Kim Jin-Su came close to having doubled the lead in the 14th minute after being brilliantly teed up by Son Heung-Min, but his resultant shot was saved by the goalkeeper.
The visitors struggled to pose a meaningful threat and were reduced to long-range efforts in the latter stages of the first half.
Korea adopted a more cautious approach in the second half and were content on defending their one-goal advantage, which allowed Syria a host of opportunities but they failed to capitalise.
Firas Al Khatib should have levelled the score in the 71st minute when a good passing move resulted in him finding space in the area, but his shot was fired straight at the goalkeeper.
Omar Kharbin played an integral role in the Syrian attack as he dictated play from the midfield, however, he was let down by his fellow attackers.
Korea proved wasteful in the latter stages of the game with both Choi Chul-soon and Ki Sung-yueng missing chances to put the game to bed with two one-on-one chances.
Firas Al Khatib came agonisingly close to having levelled matters in the 91st minute, when his fierce left-footed strike thundered against the crossbar.
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