INCHEON, South Korea – Hosts South Korea overpowered Thailand 2-0 on Tuesday to set up a titanic Asian Games football final against North Korea.
Chanathip Songkrasin tries to break the Korean defence in the semi-final match of the Asian Games football on Tuesday. Two goals in the first half were enough for the hosts to beat the Thai team. (Photo by Pattarapong Chatpattarasill)
The two countries, which straddle the world's most-fortified border, each won their semi-finals, giving the men's tournament a blockbuster gold medal clash with heavy political and emotional overtones.
Communist North Korea beat Iraq 1-0 in extra time in the earlier kickoff.
The Thai team went to the semi-final match against the hosts, with confidence to reach the final for the first time, after beating China and Jordan in previous rounds with no goals allowed.
But striker Lee Jong-Ho headed South Korea in front after 41 minutes as the home side's relentless pressure finally told before captain Jang Hyun-Soo held his nerve to add a penalty he was forced to take twice in first-half stoppage time.
South Korea's players will be excused from two years of mandatory military service if they end a 28-year title drought and win the tournament, which is played under the same under-23 format as the Olympics.
North and South Korea are technically still at war after the 1950-53 Korean War ended in a truce, not a peace treaty. But they regularly play in sporting contests.
Jong Il-Gwan scored an extra-time winner for North Korea with a curling free kick but was sent off minutes later, ruling him out of Thursday's final.
Victory for North Korea would serve as a useful propaganda tool for Pyongyang, which frequently lavishes cars and apartments on medal-winning athletes who bring glory to the state.
Thailand will take on Iraq on Thursday with the bronze medal of the Asian Games at stake.