Saudi Arabia and Korea Republic are all set for a blockbuster AFC Asian Cup Qatar 2023™ Round of 16 clash on Tuesday.
Saudi Arabia topped Group E while Korea Republic advanced as the Group E runners-up.
Unbeaten Saudi Arabia
Saudi Arabia are undefeated against Korea Republic from their four previous meetings at the AFC Asian Cup (W1 D3) with their most recent encounter ending in a 1-1 draw in the 2007 group stage. Saudi Arabia have won both of their two previous knockout games against Korea Republic at the tournament (won 1988 final on penalties, won 2000 semi-final).
Tough stat
Saudi Arabia have lost their last two knockout games at the AFC Asian Cup, each by a 1-0 score – the only time they’ve lost back-to-back knockout games at the tournament.
Stellar record
Korea Republic have won their first knockout game at each of the last four editions of the AFC Asian Cup, conceding only a single goal across that term; in fact, the last time they lost their first knockout game of the tournament was in a 4-3 loss to Islamic Republic of Iran in the 2004 quarter-finals.
Precision
Korea Republic (88.2%) and Saudi Arabia (88.1%) had the highest pass accuracies of any teams during the group stage of Qatar 2023 while the East Asian side’s 2,099 passes were also more than any other team in the competition.
Creative kings
No players have created more scoring chances at Qatar 2023 than Korea Republic duo Lee Kang-In (9) and Lee Jae-Sung (8).
BY: Nadeem Faisal Baiga
