Hong Kong eye Japan scalp at E.Asian Games

Unfancied Hong Kong will be looking to take another major scalp in the football final at the East Asian Games after they knocked out North Korea on penalty kicks.

The plucky hosts face Japan for the gold medal after seeing off North Korea in the semi-finals 4-2 on penalties on Thursday, having also surprisingly beat South Korea 4-1 in the group stages.

Japan made it through to Saturday’s final by defeating South Korea 2-1, also on Thursday.

“It was just magic,” Hong Kong’s South Korean coach Kim Pan-Gon was quoted as saying by the South China Morning Post.

“When we began this competition our goal was to get into the last four. We did that. Then I told the players we could dream about reaching the final. And now we have done that.”

Arch rivals North and South Korea will face off for the bronze medal, also on Saturday.