South Korea held by war-ravaged Syrians in World Cup qualifier

Seremban (Malaysia) (AFP) – South Korea hit a speed bump in their bid to reach a 10th World Cup as they were held to a goalless draw on Tuesday against a Syrian side that is unable to play at home due to the country’s long-running, bloody conflict.

The frustrated South Koreans dominated possession during the match held in the Malaysian city of Seremban but largely failed to threaten the Syrian goal.

In their best chance, midfielder Lee Chung-Yong was denied thanks to a fine save by the Syrian goalkeeper Ibrahim Alma early in the second half.

The frantic Koreans stepped up the pressure in the final 20 minutes, but Syria defended in numbers to secure the draw despite playing eight minutes of extra time after a number of Syrian injuries during the night.

In all, South Korea peppered Syria with 14 shots but just two of them were on target, compared to seven Syrian shots overall, four of them on target. The Koreans also had 12 corner kicks to just one for Syria.

South Korea, who dispatched China 3-2 last week, were expected to notch an easy win against Syria, who lost 1-0 to Uzbekistan in their previous match.

With the Syrians unable to play at home, the match was shifted to Malaysia last week after the collapse of talks that would have seen the Chinese territory of Macau play host.

It was held at the 20,000-seat Paroi Stadium in Seremban, south of the Malaysian capital of Kuala Lumpur.