Yoshikatsu Kawaguchi was the hero for defending champions Japan as they eliminated Australia 4-3 in a penalty shootout to progress to the semi-finals of the AFC Asian Cup.

Kawaguchi saved from both Harry Kewell and Lucas Neill as Japan's quest for a third successive Asian Cup title stayed alive with Yuji Nakazawa scored the winning penalty emphatically past Mark Schwarzer.

The Japanese rekindled memories of their last appearance in the quarter-finals of the Asian Cup, when they knocked out Jordan in similar fashion before going on to win the title.

It was a brave performance, though, from the Australians who played the entire extra-time period with just 10 men after Vince Grella was sent off.

At score at that stage was 1-1 after John Aloisi's 70th minute opener was cancelled out less than two minutes later when Naohiro Takahara struck from close range.

Aloisi struck for the Socceroos with just 20 minutes to go when he pushed home a corner from substitute Harry Kewell after the ball had somehow managed to cross the six-yard box untouched.

But Australia's lead lasted less than two minutes when Takahara capitalised on Mark Milligan's miss-hit clearance before turning and firing past Schwarzer, via the goalkeeper's right post.

Japan's hopes of progressing improved further as time was running out when referee Kuwaiti Saad Khameel Al Fadhli sent midfielder Vince Grella off when he hit Takahara in the face with a flailing arm as both went up for a header, but Ivica Osim's team were unable to take full advantage.

Not surprisingly, the champions controlled possession but they lacked the creativity to breach the tightly packed Australian defence.

The game went into extra-time but the Australians put up a dogged defence and successfully kept the Japanese at bay, even though there was a scare for the Socceroos with just second remaining.

A lofted cross into the penalty area was met by Shunsuke Nakamura's flying volley, but Schwarzer's reflex save to his right kept the ball out and took the game into a penalty shootout.

Kawaguchi guessed correctly to deny Kewell and Neill while Nakamura and Yasuhito Endo converted successfully before Tim Cahill put Australia on the board.

Yuichi Komano made it 3-1 and Nick Carle kept Australia alive with his spot kick. The pressure increased on Japan when Takahara put his effort over the bar and when David Carney scored that left Nakazawa to go head-to-head with Schwarzer.

The veteran defender, however, was equal to the task to send Japan into the semi-finals once again.

Captain Lee Woon-jae made two crucial saves in the shootout Sunday and South Korea advanced to the Asian Cup semifinals with a win on penalties over Iran.

After a scoreless 120 minutes, including two periods of extra time, Kim Jung-woo slotted his spot kick to seal the Koreans' 4-2 win in the shootout and a place in the next round against Iraq.

It was the second of three quarterfinals so far decided on penalties. Defending champion Japan edged Australia 4-3 on penalties Saturday night after their match was locked 1-1 after extra time.

Iraq, which is traveling to Kuala Lumpur for Wednesday's semifinal match, beat surprise quarterfinalist Vietnam 2-0 in Bangkok on Saturday.

Saudi Arabia was playing Uzbekistan later Sunday in the last quarterfinal.

South Korea, which finished second behind the Saudis in Group D after a surprise loss to Bahrain, met Iran in a quarterfinal for the fourth consecutive Asian Cup. The series is 2-2.

Javad Nekounam got within an inch of giving Iran a lead at the end of the first period of extra time when his right-footed drive from the top of the area shaved the outside of the left post.

And South Korean captain Lee saved a long-range strike from his Iranian counterpart Mehdi Mahdavikia two minutes into the last period to keep it scoreless.

It was Lee's save against Mahdavikia to keep South Korea's 2-1 lead in the shootout that swung the balance in his team's favor.

Iran's substitute goalkeeper Vahid Taleblou saved the next shot to keep the margin at 2-1, but Lee made another save on Rasoul Khatabi's effort with the tally at 3-2 to set up the win.

Kim calmly finished it off.

Iraq's Brazilian coach Jorvan Vieira launched a furious tirade Tuesday against the Asian Football Confederation (AFC) after his team was forced to wait six hours to get into their hotel.

Vieira's squad arrived in Kuala Lumpur from Bangkok late Monday after assurances from the AFC that their rooms at the swanky Prince Hotel would be ready, only to be left stranded in the lobby, he said.

"This competition is one that is considered of a high level where these sorts of mistakes should not happen," he fumed at a press conference Tuesday.

"This is second only to the World Cup, to Copa America. These kind of logistical mistakes should not happen. This is very bad. This is not a tourist group, this is a football team in the semi-finals."

Vieira said the disruption has affected his team's preparations for their Asian Cup semi-final against South Korea on Wednesday.

"For us it is more difficult than for Korea because we left Thailand on Monday at 7am and we arrived here at 5pm in the afternoon and we waited four hours in the lobby of the hotel to get our rooms," he said.

"The Iran team were still in their rooms and they are already out of the competition. Priority has to be for the teams who have qualified.

"We waited four hours and then they gave us only eight rooms for 31 persons. After that we had to wait another two hours for the rest of the rooms.

"We finally picked up our luggage at 8.15pm and only then could we get our clothes to go to the training ground at 9pm, and we came back from training at 12.30am. We took our dinner at 1.30am."

The angry coach blamed the AFC, claiming the team was given assurances over the hotel availability before they left Thailand after their 2-0 quarter-final victory over Vietnam on Saturday.

"In Thailand, we had contact from people at the AFC and they said to us 'if you go the day after the game (Sunday) we don't have a hotel for you, we will have to put you in another hotel and then you will have to switch.'

"We said, 'okay, we will stay in Thailand if you can guarantee to us that when we arrive in Kuala Lumpur we can go to our rooms with no problem.'

"They gave a guarantee and this has not happened. We arrived and waited six hours. I think now Korea has more advantage than us."

AFC director of communications Clare Kenny Tipton admitted that the rooms were not ready on the team's arrival, but said they had received no official complaints.

"At no time did the Iraqi team delegation complain to the AFC officials at the hotel, and no official complaint has been received to date," she said.

"The problem was resolved, and the Iraq team set their own schedule for the evening.

"The AFC always strives to provide the best facilities and organisation for the teams, and fully respects their preparation requirements."

Iraq's progress in the Asian Cup has brought joy for the beleaguered Iraqis back home with people in Baghdad and other cities partying with celebratory gunfire after each victory.

Saudi Arabia head coach Helio Anjos has told his players to consign their poor record against Japan to the history books as the Green Falcons take on the defending champions in the 2007 AFC Asian Cup semi-finals on Wednesday.

The Japanese have downed Saudi Arabia in the final of the Asian Cup twice, a 1-0 win handing Japan their first title in Hiroshima in 1992 before a win by the same scoreline saw the trophy return to Tokyo in 2000.

As a result, Anjos is focusing his attention on wiping his players' minds of any potential inferiority complex ahead of Wednesday's meeting at the My Dinh Stadium

"I have been trying to get it into the heads of the players that all the other results against Japan don't matter and it is up to them to take their chance tomorrow, said Anjos.

"This is our chance to go to the final and we want to take it."

In addition to the two losses in the final, Japan handed the Saudis one of their most humiliating results against Asian opposition in recent times when Philippe Troussier's team hammered them 4-1 in the group stage of the 2000 Asian Cup, with one of the four goals coming from current squad member Naohiro Takahara.

More recently, the two sides met in the qualification tournament for the 2007 tournament with Saleh Bashir giving the Saudis a narrow win in Jeddah before a Kazuaki Ganaha double following Marcus Tulio Tanaka's opener gave Japan a more convincing 3-1 success in Sapporo.

Neither Anjos nor his counterpart Ivica Osim where in charge of their respective sides and while the Brazilian sees little difference in the quality of the two semi-finalists he does feel that the Saudis long trip from Jakarta - where they defeated Uzbekistan 2-1 in the quarters - could give Japan a slight edge.

"Tomorrow will be a very big game as both Japan and Saudi Arabia have similar schools of football and they are both powerhouses of Asian football," said the 49-year-old.

"It will be a very interesting game between two strong teams tomorrow but we have had much less rest than Japan.

"They were training when we were doing a 12-hour marathon journey from Jakarta.

"It is a problem that we have had to travel when our opponent has had more time to rest and train but we will not use this as an excuse. Our players know exactly what they have to do."