South Korea squeezed past Qatar 2-1 in their World Cup qualifier on Tuesday, taking an important step toward making another appearance in the quadrennial tournament.

At Seoul World Cup Stadium, second-half substitute Son Heung-min scored as the last-minute winner for the home team. In Group A in the final Asian qualifying stage, South Korea improved to 10 points after five games with three wins, one loss and one draw.

Winger Lee Keun-ho headed in the first goal for the home team in the 59th minute, but the lead lasted just three minutes as Khalfan Ibrahim found the net for the visitors.

And just moments before the final whistle, Son pounced on a loose ball after Lee Dong-gook's shot went off the crossbar. Qatari goalkeeper Qasem Burhan was caught out of position as Son walked in alone to give South Korea the hard-fought victory.



South Korea has three games remaining -- one each against Lebanon, Uzbekistan and Iran. All three games will take place in June.

The win Tuesday temporarily put South Korea in the lead in Group A, but Uzbekistan moved ahead with a 1-0 win over Lebanon in Tashkent later in the day.

Uzbekistan leads the group with 11 points on three wins, one loss and two draws. South Korea is one point back in second place with three wins, one loss and one draw, having played one fewer game than Uzbekistan.

South Korea is seeking its eighth consecutive World Cup appearance. It must finish in the top two in the group to earn an automatic berth at the 2014 tournament. A third-place finish will relegate South Korea to a playoff.

Neither side threatened to score in the opening half. After a fast start, the Qatari players were forced to spend the majority of the half in their own zone as South Koreans dominated possession.

The home team, though, had little to show for the effort.

In the 25th, Ji Dong-won took a nifty pass from Koo Ja-cheol but airmailed his shot from the left edge of the box. About eight minutes later, Lee Chung-yong found the charging striker Kim Shin-wook deep in the area, but goalkeeper Burhan was a bit quicker to the ball.

In the 36th, Lee Keun-ho crossed for Lee Chung-yong but the midfielder bobbled the pass at point blank range.

The game grew testy in the late stages, with the Qatari players taking down the South Koreans with hard fouls. The players briefly got into a shoving match, but the South Koreans kept their cool just long enough to pick up the win.

South Korea had been winless in its past four international matches, dating back to last September, before Tuesday's victory. (Yonhap News)