The final round of the 2008 Beijing Olympics Men’s Asian Qualifying matches were played throughout Asia on the 21st, and by winning their respective groups, Korea Rep and Japan have clinched qualification for the Olympics.

Leaders of Group B by 1 point, Korea Rep played at home to 2nd place Bahrain. Right from the off Korea Rep controlled the game and hardly gave the opposition any chances at all, the match finishing in a 0-0 draw. This means Korea Rep keep the group lead with 3 wins and 3 draws, and therefore qualify for their 6th Olympics in a row.

Leaders of Group C by 2 points with 3 wins, 1 draw and 1 loss, Japan played 2nd place Saudi Arabia at home. Japan looked shaky up until the 15th minute but after that midfielders AOYAMA Toshihiro and HOSOGAI Hajime played in a double volante role to allay any dangers from there on, the match finishing in a 0-0 draw. They defended their group lead and therefore qualify for their 4th consecutive Olympics.

Elsewhere, in Group A, DPR Korea played group leaders Australia. DPR Korea went into the lead after just 10 minutes thanks to mid-fielder PAK Chol Min’s goal but were pegged back in the 70th minute and the game finished in a 1-1 draw. With 1 win, 1 draw and 4 losses, DPR Korea finish 3rd in their group with 4 points.