Kim own goal earns Wilmots' Iran draw with Koreans
Soccer Football - International Friendly - South Korea v Iran - Seoul World Cup Stadium, Seoul, South Korea - June 11, 2019 Iran's Vahid Amiri in action with South Korea's Kim Minjae REUTERS/Kim Hong-Ji
HONG KONG (Reuters) - An own goal from Kim Young-gwon gifted Iran a 1-1 draw with South Korea on Tuesday evening, as Marc Wilmots continued his unbeaten start to life as the new head coach of the five-time World Cup qualifiers.
Hwang Ui-jo put the Koreans in front in the 58th minute when a calamitous error in the Iranian defence saw Milad Mohammedi and Morteza Pouralighanji collide as they attempted to reach Lee Yong's punt forward.
With the Iran pair grounded, the Gamba Osaka striker had the time and space to race in on goal and slot past Alireza Beiranvand.
Soccer Football - International Friendly - South Korea v Iran - Seoul World Cup Stadium, Seoul, South Korea - June 11, 2019 South Korea's Kim Young-Gwon in action REUTERS/Kim Hong-Ji
But the Koreans held the lead for just five minutes as Kim Young-gwon deflected a corner from Ahmad Nourollahi beyond goalkeeper Cho Hyun-woo to ensure the game ended in a draw.
Wilmots last month replaced Carlos Queiroz, who helped Iran qualify for the 2014 and 2018 World Cup finals, and notched up his first win in charge last Thursday with a comfortable 5-0 victory over Syria at Tehran's Azadi Stadium.
But the meeting with the Koreans represented the first real test for the former Belgium coach, as both nations gear up for the start of the second phase of Asia's World Cup qualifying campaign, which kicks off in September.
Soccer Football - International Friendly - South Korea v Iran - Seoul World Cup Stadium, Seoul, South Korea - June 11, 2019 Iran's Milad Mohammadi in action REUTERS/Kim Hong-Ji
(Reporting by Michael Church; Editing by Hugh Lawson)
Soccer Football - International Friendly - South Korea v Iran - Seoul World Cup Stadium, Seoul, South Korea - June 11, 2019 Iran's Morteza Pouraliganji celebrates their first goal REUTERS/Kim Hong-JiSoccer Football - International Friendly - South Korea v Iran - Seoul World Cup Stadium, Seoul, South Korea - June 11, 2019 Iran's Vahid Amiri in action with South Korea's Kim Minjae REUTERS/Kim Hong-JiSoccer Football - International Friendly - South Korea v Iran - Seoul World Cup Stadium, Seoul, South Korea - June 11, 2019 South Korea's Hwang Ui-Jo celebrates scoring their first goal with team mates REUTERS/Kim Hong-JiSoccer Football - International Friendly - South Korea v Iran - Seoul World Cup Stadium, Seoul, South Korea - June 11, 2019 South Korea's Kim Young-Gwon scores an own goal and Iran's first REUTERS/Kim Hong-JiSoccer Football - International Friendly - South Korea v Iran - Seoul World Cup Stadium, Seoul, South Korea - June 11, 2019 South Korea's Hwang Ui-Jo celebrates scoring their first goal REUTERS/Kim Hong-JiSoccer Football - International Friendly - South Korea v Iran - Seoul World Cup Stadium, Seoul, South Korea - June 11, 2019 South Korea's Hong Chul in action with Iran's Alireza Jahanbakhsh REUTERS/Kim Hong-JiSoccer Football - International Friendly - South Korea v Iran - Seoul World Cup Stadium, Seoul, South Korea - June 11, 2019 South Korea's Sang-Ho Na in action with Iran's Morteza Pouraliganji REUTERS/Kim Hong-JiSoccer Football - International Friendly - South Korea v Iran - Seoul World Cup Stadium, Seoul, South Korea - June 11, 2019 South Korea's Seung-Ho Paik in action with Iran's Omid Ebrahimi and Ramin Rezaeian REUTERS/Kim Hong-JiSoccer Football - International Friendly - South Korea v Iran - Seoul World Cup Stadium, Seoul, South Korea - June 11, 2019 Iran players pose for a team group photo before the match REUTERS/Kim Hong-Ji
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