Asian Games 2018: Uzbekistan, Korea, Syria, and Vietnam through to Men's Football Quarter-finals

Today witnessed the round of 16 matches at the Men's Football event from the 2018 Asian Games.

In the first match held at Patriot Chandrabhaga Stadium, Palestine (99) faced off against Syria (73). Palestine started with a 4-4-2 formation against the Syrian's 3-5-2 formation.

Although Palestine enjoyed 53% ball possession they were unable to create a breakthrough in finding the opponent's goal. Syrian midfielder Ashkar Ahmad found the target in the 73rd minute to help Syria go through to the quarter-finals where they will meet Vietnam.

Final Score: Syria 1-0 Palestine (Ashkar Ahmad 73').

In the second match held at Wibawa Mukti Stadium, Uzbekistan was in form controlling 67% of ball possession throughout the match. They also had 14 shots of which eight were on target.

Hong Kong was left to play a man down as their defender Pui Hong Yu received a straight red card in the 42nd minute.

Final Score: Uzbekistan 3-0 Hong Kong (Ikromjon Alibaev 27', Javokhir Sidikov 60', Zabhikhillo Urinboev 65').

In the third match of the day, Vietnam got past Bahrain by a solitary goal. Bahrain suffered a setback in the 42nd minute as their midfielder Ahmed Sanad was sent off.

Bahrain was slightly better with 51% ball possession but they were hampered by a man down as they were able to strike on target only thrice of their total nine attempts. Vietnam had five shots on target of the 14 attempted.

Final Score: Vietnam 1-0 Bahrain (Cong Phuong Nguyen 88').

Cong Phuong Nguyen helped Vietnam into Quarters

In the last match of the day, South Korea got the better of Iran. South Korea dominated the game with 60% ball possession. They also had seven shots on target of their 10 attempts.

The 4-3-3 formation adopted by Korean coach Hak Bum Kim wreaked havoc on the Iranian defence.

Final Score: South Korea 2-0 Iran (Ui Jo Hwang 40', Seungwoo Lee 55').

Seungwoo Lee ecstatic after scoring against Iran

In earlier games, Pakistan got the better of Nepal 2-1. Pakistan's Muhammad Bilal (54'), Saddam Hussain (72') scored after Nepal had taken the lead via an own goal from Shahbaz Younus (12').

Vietnam surprised Japan by defeating them 1-0. Quang Hai Nguyen (3') was the goalscorer.

Bangladesh upset Qatar 1-0 with Jamal Bhuyan scoring late in injury time (90'+3).

Uzbekistan defeated Thailand 1-0 with Zabikhillo Urinboev finding the net in the 17th minute.

Syria thrashed Timor Leste 5-2. Goal scorers for Syria were Zakria Hannan (33'), Abdulhadi Shalha (42', 54', 90'+1), and Mohammed Kamel Koaeh (50'). Rufino Walter Gama (15'), Silveiro da R. da Silva Garcia (85') scored for Timor Leste.

China defeated UAE 2-1. Shihao Wei (38') and Junsheng Yao (71') scored for China. Mohammed Almesmari (32') scored for UAE.

Myanmar upset Iran 2-0. Lwin Moe Aung (56') and Htet Phyoe Wai (68') were the goal scorers.

North Korea defeat Saudi Arabia 3-0. Goal scorers were Kim Yong II (2'), Kim Yu Song (25'), (51').

Indonesia got the better of Hong Kong 3-1. Irfan Jaya (46'), Stefano Janjte Lilipaly (85'), Hanif Abdurrauf Sjahbandi (90'+4) scored for Indonesia. Hok Ming Lau (29') scored for Hong Kong.

Laos got past Chinese Taipei 2-0. Chansamone Phommalivong (5'), Tiny Bounmalay (74') scored for Laos.

South Korean forward Heung Min Son scored in the 63rd minute to defeat Kyrgyzstan 1-0.

Bahrain defeated Malaysia 3-2. Goal scorers for Bahrain - Mohamed Hardan (33', 89') and Hamad Alshamsan (37'). Muhammad Syahmi Safari (20') and Muhammad Safawi Rasid (90'+3) scored for Malaysia.

Group Standings:

Group A Indonesia 9, Palestine 8, Hong Kong 7, Laos 3, Chinese Taipei 1.

Group B Uzbekistan 9, Bangladesh 4, Thailand 2 and Qatar 1.

Group C China 9, Syria 6, UAE 3 and Timor Leste 0.

Group D Vietnam 9, Japan 6, Pakistan 3, Nepal 0.

Group E Malaysia 6, South Korea 6, Bahrain 4, Kyrgyzstan 1.

Group F Iran 4, North Korea 4, Saudi Arabia 4 and Myanmar 4.

Round of 16 remaining matches

China (75) vs Saudi Arabia (67)

Japan (61) vs Malaysia (171)

UAE (77) vs Indonesia (164)

North Korea (108) vs Bangladesh (194)