PALEMBANG – Ten-man Korea Republic secured third place in the AFC Asian Cup 2007 and qualification for the next edition of the tournament after downing East Asian rivals Japan in a penalty shootout at Gelora Sriwijaya Stadium on Saturday.

The Koreans were reduced to 10 players in the third place play-off match when Kang Min-soo was sent off in the 56th minute but managed to hold on for their third consecutive goalless stalemate thanks to some excellent goalkeeping by Lee Woon-jae.

And the Korean keeper would emerge as his side’s hero once again in the shootout, saving Naotake Hanyu’s attempt to give his side a 6-5 victory.

With the win, the Koreans earned a berth in the 2011 Asian Cup with 2007 finalists Iraq and Saudi Arabia while three-time champions Japan will have to earn their spot via the qualification tournament.

An 11th minute Yasuhito Endo free-kick forced Lee into the first save of the match but it was the Koreans who had the majority of the chances in the first half, with Yeom Ki-hun firing narrowly wide after 16 minutes and forcing Yoshikatsu Kawaguchi to punch over a 24th minute free kick.

Kawaguchi was called into action again a minute later to tip over an Oh Jang-eun shot and also stopped a hard low grounder shot by Lee Chun-soo in the 41st minute.

But it was the Japanese that nearly went in front shortly before half-time when Shunsuke Nakamura’s corner was met by Yuki Nakazawa inside the Korean six-yard box, forcing an excellent point-blank save from Lee Woon-jae.

The game took a dramatic turn on 56 minutes when Kang was dismissed by United Arab Emirates referee Ali Al Badwawi after being shown his second yellow card for a body check on Naohiro Takahara.

However, the Japanese failed to take advantage of the extra man as Takahara fired over from the edge of the box and substitute Hanyu was brilliantly denied by Lee Woon-jae on 74 minutes after being sent clear by Nakamura.

With the match deep into stoppage time, Hisato Sato went within inches of winning the match as his shot from the left of the box flew just past the far point.

The Japanese had their chances in extra time with Hanyu squandering a glorious opportunity when he fired the ball at Kim Chi-gon with the goal at his mercy while Sato flicked Yuichi Komano’s low cross on target only to be denied by Lee Woon-jae.

The Korean goalkeeper’s heroics didn’t end there as he emerged as a penalty shootout hero once again, reaching up with his right hand to keep out Hanyu’s spot kick after the first 11 attempts had been converted. Sunday, July 29, 2007 at 12:21 AM