AL AIN — South Korea beat China 2-0 to secure top spot in Group C at the Asian Cup on Wednesday as Tottenham Hotspur’s Son Heung-min made his first appearance in the tournament for Paulo Bento’s side.
The Spurs forward arrived from London on Monday following his club’s Premier League loss to Manchester United and was not expected to start South Korea’s final group encounter.
Yet with the Koreans needing a win to claim pole position, Bento selected the 26-year-old and goals from Hwang Ui-jo and Kim Min-jae secured all three points for the Taeguk Warriors.
China finished second in the group on six points, three adrift of the Koreans and three ahead of Kyrgyzstan, who also made the knockouts after a 3-1 win over Sven-Goran Eriksson’s Philippines.
Iran topped Group D after a 0-0 draw with second-placed Iraq while Vietnam beat Yemen 2-0 to finish third and retain their hopes of a place in the next round.
Hwang put Korea in front from the penalty spot after 14 minutes and the Gamba Osaka striker almost doubled his side’s lead in the 25^th minute, only to see his curling shot from the left come back off the post.
Kim added the second six minutes into the second half with a powerful header from Son’s corner, and the Spurs man was substituted three minutes from fulltime.
“All teams become stronger when they have their best players, and Son is one of our best players,” said Bento.
“He gives us more options going forward, an area that we need strengthening.
“We made the decision to play Son because every coach wants to field the players who can influence games. Son is a player who can play in different positions which, in turn, allows the team to play in different ways.”
Kyrgyzstan advanced to the knockout rounds as a Vitalij Lux hat-trick helped them beat Sven-Goran Eriksson’s Philippines.
Eriksson’s side finished bottom of Group C while Kyrgyzstan were guaranteed one of the four places available in the last 16 for the third-placed sides with the best records.
Iran and Iraq played out a goalless draw in Dubai to ensure Iran topped Group D on goal difference from the Iraqis after both finished with seven points, four ahead of third-placed Vietnam.
Nguyen Quang Hai curled a free kick into the top corner to give Vietnam the lead against Yemen after 38 minutes and Que Ngoc Hai’s penalty sealed the win for Park Hang-seo’s side, who will have to wait for Thursday’s results to discover if they will remain in the competition.
Saudi Arabia and Qatar meet to determine the Group E winner with Lebanon due to face North Korea in the same group. Japan take on Uzbekistan to decide top spot in Group F where Oman play Turkmenistan. — Reuters

MELBOURNE — Former Australian Open winner Maria Sharapova continued her marauding form by handing out a 6-2 6-1 thrashing to Sweden’s Rebecca Peterson on Wednesday to set up a blockbuster third-round showdown with holder Caroline Wozniacki.
In a clash of former world number one players, the five-times Grand Slam winner will next meet Dane Wozniacki, who eased past Johanna Larsson 6-1 6-3 earlier in the day.
“It’s always a physical match,” Sharapova told reporters of her third-seeded opponent looming in the next round, with Wozniacki having won her first Grand Slam here last year.
“She gets a lot of balls back. A great retriever of the game. Just incredibly solid. Does a lot of things well. You kind of have to, to be number one in the world, to be a Grand Slam champion. I expect her to do all those things on Friday.
“I think the Grand Slam was the one trophy she was looking for. With determination she got there last year. She loves playing here, loves everything about this tournament. I certainly have a tough match ahead of me.”
The Russian 30^th seed, who was suspended for 15 months for taking banned drug meldonium in 2016, broke 23-year-old Peterson twice in the opening set and peppered the court with powerful groundstrokes in a superb display of hitting.
Sharapova, who also thrashed Britain’s Harriet Dart 6-0 6-0 in her opening round match, won seven consecutive games against the Swede to take a 4-0 lead in the second set before world number 64 Peterson could get on the board in the set.
LATE FINISH
With the previous match between local hope Alex de Minaur and qualifier Henri Laaksonen lasting five sets at the Margaret Court Arena, Sharapova’s match ended long after midnight and the Russian was in a hurry to finish as it was way past her bedtime.
Asked what her bedtime was, Sharapova said: “10:30. Like in bed at 10:00, sleep by 10:30. My boyfriend challenges it quite a lot, but 10:30 is my time.
“It was definitely a different type of match. Took a lot of warming up for this one. Bit of uncertainty going into a match quite late. But, yeah, despite all those changes, I thought I played well.”
The 31-year-old Sharapova, who last won a Grand Slam at the 2014 French Open, only struggled against the Swede briefly in the second set during a lengthy hold of serve to go up 5-1.
But such was her dominance that the Russian, who won in Melbourne in 2008, did not face a break point in the match and sealed the contest in 71 minutes with a third break in the second set.
“I think there’s certainly things I want to improve. I’ve been happy with the way I focused throughout the match, kept my concentration,” she added.
“It’s not easy to start one match at 11 am, then 48 hours later, a little bit more, to start one that’s just before midnight. Just all those things, they’re about adjustments. I have that experience.
“So I’m happy that I’m able to come out into a match like this and say, ‘I’ve done this before, I know the drill, I know how this goes, I’m ready, and I need to step it up. No matter what my opponent brings today, I have to get it done.’”
Nadal spins way into third round with near flawless display
Rafa Nadal picked apart second round opponent Matthew Ebden 6-3 6-2 6-2 at the Australian Open on Wednesday, in a near flawless display of top-spinning artistry.
The second seed overcame an early first set challenge from the Australian, who should have secured a break-of-serve with the scores locked at 3-3.
Ebden missed a backhand volley off an unexceptional passing shot — and it proved costly.
The Australian was broken the next game, succumbing with a double-fault, and the Spaniard went through the broken line of defence, securing the set and an early break in the second.
Sensing an early end to the proceedings, the crowd tried to lift one of its few remaining local hopes, while at the same time being dazzled by the Spaniard’s control of the court.
The 17-times Grand Slam winner was never seriously challenged again, and the third set became an exhibition match.
At one stage, Ebden simply shrugged after Nadal unleashed a wild forehand winner that was yet completely under control.
Nadal, who showed no signs of discomfort from a thigh strain that troubled him ahead of the first major of the year, will play Alex de Minaur in the third round, marking his third consecutive match against an Australian. — Reuters