Melbourne: Son Heung-min scored twice in extra-time as two-time champions Korea Republic secured a third consecutive appearance in the semi-finals of the AFC Asian Cup after edging out Uzbekistan 2-0 in a thrilling quarter-final at Melbourne Rectangular Stadium on Thursday.

Bayer Leverkusen forward Son netted with just over a minute of the first half of extra-time remaining following an entertaining yet goalless 90 minutes of normal time, which was the first draw of the tournament, before repeating the feat at the end of the second period.

And having followed up their win over Uzbekistan in the third place play-off at the 2011 AFC Asian Cup with a fourth consecutive win of the 2015 campaign without conceding a goal, Uli Stielike’s Group A winners will face either Iran or Iraq in Monday’s semi-final at Stadium Australia in Sydney.