S. Korea held to draw against Kuwait in World Cup qualifier

KUWAIT CITY, Sept. 6 (Yonhap) -- Unable to hold on to an early lead, South Korea managed a 1-1 draw against Kuwait here Tuesday in the third round of the continental World Cup qualification.
At Peace and Friendship Stadium, captain Park Chu-young gave South Korea a lead in the eighth minute, but Hussain Fadel evened the score eight minutes into the second half of the physical contest to salvage the draw.
South Korea, Kuwait, Lebanon and the United Arab Emirates make up Group B in the third round. After two games, South Korea leads the pack with four points. In the opening game last Friday, South Korea beat Lebanon 6-0 at home. Kuwait, which won its first game 3-2 over the United Arab Emirates, also has four points but trails South Korea in goals scored.
Lebanon beat the UAE 3-1 on Tuesday.
South Korea got off to a fast start in the hostile confines, as Park, who had a hat trick against Lebanon, extended his hot streak. Ji Dong-won faked receiving the pass from Nam Tae-hee, and that allowed the unmanned Park to pounce on the ball past the goalkeeper, Nawaf Al-Khaldi.
The home team pulled even in the 53rd, as defensive back Fadel jumped in on the loose ball after the Korean defense failed to clear Hamad Al-Enezi's cross.
South Korea is ranked 33rd in the world, and Kuwait is 95th. South Korea now has eight wins, three losses and nine draws against Kuwait.
South Korea lost veteran right back Cha Du-ri to an injury in the 16th minute, when he got tangled up with a Kuwaiti defender after sending a cross.
There are five groups of four teams in the third round. Teams play each other twice until early next year, and the top two teams from each of the groups will reach the fourth and the final round.
South Korea is seeking its eighth straight World Cup appearance and ninth overall.
The next third-round match for South Korea is against the UAE on Oct. 11 at home.