Iraq vs. North Korea – Asian Cup 2011 – Review
The current Champions of Asia, Iraq were able to win the pre-quarter final match against North Korea after an unsatisfactory performance. Iraq were able to win a place in the quarter finals of the Asia Cup as they emerged victorious with a one goal margin.
It was Karrar Jasim who scored the only goal of the game in the first half; however, after that it was all http://www.senore.com/Football-soccer/Iraq-c2924 that managed to pressurize the one-goal-down North Korean side. The Iraqis organized themselves well at the back and did not concede a single goal
and used great counter-attacking tactics to keep themselves in the game.
The Lions of Mesopotamia went into lead only after 21 minutes. It was Mustafa Kareem who tried a long ranged effort on the North Korean goal but the goalkeeper Ri Myong-Guk was on his toes and denied him the goal scoring opportunity with a wonderful diving
save. However, the deflected shot fell right at the feet of the "newly introduced" Karrar Jasim who took the advantage of the goalkeeper being on the floor and tapped the ball in from the right side to make 1-0 for his team.
North Korea were barely in the game during that time. The first half was quite boring in terms of goal scoring opportunities as North Korea were well pressurized by the Champions and were mostly trying to defend themselves and succeeding. However, the first
clear chance was created by Iraq about five minutes before the half hour mark. Mehdi Kareem was the one who took the corner and it was wonderfully headed by http://www.senore.com/Football-soccer/Samal-Saeed-c32298 who nodded it towards the goal. With the goalkeeper trying his best to reach the ball,
Mustafa Kareem also headed the ball make it 2-0 but his header only managed to find the cross bar as a wonderful opportunity was wasted by the Iraqi players.
It took North Korea only four minutes to get back on their feet. Jong Tae-Se made an outstanding run up front and the Bochum midfielder http://www.senore.com/Football-soccer/Pak-Nam-Chol-c29037 picked up him out with a fabulous through ball. The North Korean striker brought the ball down well with
his chest but with a massive first touch it was easy for the Iraqi defenders, Basem Abbas and Kassid to clear the ball. However, they could not really clear it well and it fell back on to Pak Nam-Chol's feet and he shot it out wide to deny his team an equalizer.
With the first half ending, it was all Iraq and the crowd simply loved how the Champions were performing. However, after the break the Iraqi players returned to defend the one-goal advantage that they had. North Korea on the other hand looked to be coming
back into the game. The left midfielder Ryan Yong-Gi made the first opportunity of the second half. He managed to get past three Iraqi players on the left flank and tried his leg from his weaker left foot and found the target. However, Muhammad Kassid was
able to clear it off the line and helped his team remain in the game.
Later, the Iraqis were all behind the ball to defend their team's lead and it looked as if they had lost their way up front. There was a penalty shout during the 80th minute of the game after Muhammad Kassid brought down the North Korean striker
Jong Tae-Se but the champions were lucky and the penalty was not given.
With the game ending, North Korea ended their pre quarter finals and the Asian Cup without scoring a single goal. Now, the Iraqis have to play a very strong looking Australian team in the quarter finals.
Tags: