(Asiad) Idle S. Korea reach quarterfinals in men's football

NAGOYA, Japan, September 18 (Yonhap) - South Korea secured a quarterfinal spot in the men's football tournament at the Asian Games without playing a match. Saudi Arabia aided South Korea by defeating Qatar 2-0 on Friday at Nagoya City Mizuho Park Rugby Field. Group D is the sole group with three teams, with South Korea being the additional side.

South Korea made their tournament debut with a 4-1 victory over Qatar on Tuesday, thanks to Eom Ji-sung's first-half hat trick. The top two teams from each of the four groups advance to the quarterfinals. Qatar, after losing both their matches, guaranteed last place, enabling South Korea and Saudi Arabia to claim quarterfinal spots before facing each other in a match at 7 p.m. on Tuesday.

The victor of that encounter will secure Group D and confront the Group C runner-up in the quarterfinals at 7:30 p.m. the following Friday. The Group D runner-up will square off against the Group C winner at 2 p.m. the following Friday, both matches taking place at Nagoya City Mizuho Park Rugby Field. Uzbekistan, coached by Lee Min-sung, has already clinched a knockout berth by winning their first two matches and will face Vietnam on Tuesday, with the top seed on the line.