East Asian Games - Soccer Semifinals

The East Asian Games are coming to a close and by this time tomorrow, we will all know who got soccer medals.

There were two games today. The first one saw the Koreas battle it out. The North Koreans were coming off a surprise win against China while the South fall to Japan in their last match. The South has a better soccer history, but the North has been impressive during this tournament. Well the North continued to look impressive with a 2-0 win over their Southern neighbors. Goals were scored by Kim Yong Jun and Ryang Yong Gi. This is a big win for the People's Republic of Korea.

In the other match, Japan faced off against China. Most people thought these two would end up fighting it out for gold, but odd things happened in the group phase for China (see North Korea above). Japan was the favorite coming in, but China did not let that slow them down as they won 2-1. China held Japan to just four shots during the whole match. Goals for China were scored by Gao Lin and defensive player Du Wei. Tsujio Shinji netted Japan’s goal. This surprise outcome allows China another chance at North Korea while Japan will see if they can again beat South Korea for the bronze. Both matches will take place tomorrow.