The win means the two-time champions finished second in Group C behind Indonesia, who won 2-0 against Afghanistan in their final match.
Korea Republic, who also booked their place at the FIFA U-17 World Cup Qatar 2025 alongside Indonesia, will meet the Group D runners-up in the quarter-finals. Yemen ended their campaign in third.
Korea Republic coach Back Ki-tae made two changes to the line-up that beat Afghanistan 6-0, while his counterpart Samer Saleh switched three, including bringing in goalkeeper Anas Al-Douh for Wesam Al-Asbahi, who played in their 4-1 loss to Indonesia.
The East Asian side took charge of possession from the start but failed to create any opportunities in the first 20 minutes.
Yemen had their first look at goal in the 22nd minute, but Ali Daleeo ballooned his shot from 20 yards out after receiving a through ball from Karem Abdulatif.
Korea Republic finally broke the deadlock in the 29th minute when Kim Eun-seong received a pass from Jeong Hyeo-nung and with a quick turn sent a low shot that slipped past the diving Al-Douh.
Kim Ye-geon’s direct free-kick in the 40th minute then curled dangerously close to the right post before going widet while Jeong’s attempt four minutes later from the edge of the box slipped past the left post.
GROUP C: KOREA REPUBLIC V YEMEN
Korea Republic custodian Park Do-hun was called into action a minute into the second half when he pushed out a shot by Abdulatif from the edge of the penalty area following a pass from Ahmed Sheikh.
Yunes Sheikh had the small but vocal group of Yemeni fans on their feet in the 66th minute when his first-time attempt from inside the box crashed against the crossbar. Aiman Abdulrab’s shot a minute later was pushed out by Park, who then had to deal with a second attempt by Abdulrab from a distance.
Korea Republic’s defensive line was kept on their toes until the final whistle, but they managed to keep Yemen at bay and will now took go one better than their 2023 runners-up placing. afc/fir
