China's Han Jiaqi fails to stop Hong Hyun-seok's freekick in the men's football quarterfinal at the Hangzhou Asian Games, Oct 1, 2023. (PHOTO / XINHUA)

HANGZHOU - China conceded two goals in the first half and lost 2-0 to South Korea in the quarterfinals of the men's football tournament at the Hangzhou Asian Games on Sunday.

In the semifinals, South Korea will face Uzbekistan, who beat Saudi Arabia 2-1 earlier on Sunday

As the favorites, South Korea broke the deadlock in the 18th minute, when Hong Hyun-seok curled a free kick over China goalkeeper Han Jiaqi into the top corner.

In the 35th minute, South Korea doubled their lead as Song Min-kyu tapped home into an empty net thanks to good work from Cho Young-wook.

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China almost pulled one back in first-half stoppage time, but Dai Weijun's close header hit the far post.

South Korea controled the second half but missed several scoring opportunities, while China couldn't muster a single shot on target.

In the semifinals, South Korea will face Uzbekistan, who beat Saudi Arabia 2-1 earlier on Sunday.

The other semifinal will take place between Japan and Hong Kong (China), as Japan beat DPR Korea 2-1, while Hong Kong surprisingly edged Iran 1-0.