Malek Maaz helped end Japan hopes of a hat-trick of AFC Asian Cups with the livewire striker bagging a double as Saudi Arabia defeated the defending champions 3-2 in a see-saw semi-final at the My Dinh Stadium on Wednesday.

The Al Ahli forward scored the decisive goal in the 57th minute after the Saudis had twice squandered the lead. Yuji Nakazawa cancelled out Yasser Al Qahtani opener and Yuki Abe acrobatically drew Japan level after his defensive lapse allowed Malek Maaz to regain the Gulf side's advantage.

Japan and Saudi Arabia, both looking to win the competition for a fourth time, stuck with the same starting 11 that began their respective quarter-final victories over Australia and Uzbekistan and it was the defending champions who created the first chance of the match.

Yasuhito Endo and Shunsuke Nakamura exchanged passes at an eighth minute corner before the latter swung the ball into the six-yard area but the Celtic midfielder's cross was punched clear by Yaser Al Mosailem before it could reach the head of Yuji Nakazawa.

The Saudi keeper was called into action again seven minutes later when he blocked at the feet of Seiichiro Maki after Keita Suzuki had threaded the ball through to the JEF United striker.

Saudi Arabia, who had been distinctly second best in the opening exchanges, soon settled and in the 25th minute a shot from skipper Yasser Al Qahtani almost looped in after deflecting off the out-stretched leg of Nakazawa before Japan keeper Yoshikatsu Kawaguchi palmed away the resulting corner from Abdulrahman Al Qahtani.

The Al Qahtanis were both involved as the Saudis took a 35th minute lead, with Taiseer Al Jassam knocking down Abdulrahman free-kick in to the path of Yasser, who hooked the ball past Kawaguchi.

The Saudis had barely finished celebrating the sniper's fourth goal of the tournament when Japan levelled two minutes later as Nakazawa charged in front of Al Mosailem to head home an Endo corner.

Japan almost stole a second going into the break when Al Mosailem flapped at a Nakamura free-kick but the ball bounced just past the Al Ahli keeper right hand post.

Just two minutes into the second half the Saudis went ahead when Malek Maaz ghosted in between Nakazawa and Yuki Abe to nod in Ahmed Al Bahari pinpoint cross from the right.

But for a second time Japan hit back soon after and for a second time the equaliser came from an Endo corner.

The Gamba Osaka midfielder's 53rd minute flag kick was headed back across the penalty area by Seiichiro Maki and dispatched past Al Mosailem via an acrobatic scissors kick from Abe.

Abe had appeared to atone for his earlier defensive lapse but the Urawa Reds midfielder and Nakazawa were again culpable as the Saudis made it 3-2 four minutes later.

Malek Maaz took possession on the left side of the penalty box and easily skipped past the Japanese duo before unleashing a powerful drive beyond Kawaguchi.

Japan struggled to break down the Saudis but came within a lick of paint to drawing level with nine minutes left to play as substitute Naotake Hanyu, a 75th minute replacement for Endo, sending a thunderous long range drive crashing off the cross bar.

The victory helped the Saudis avenge their 1-0 defeat to the Japanese in the 1992 and 2000 Asian Cup finals and set-up a showdown in Jakarta with Iraq after Jorvan Vieira's side defeated Korea Republic 4-3 on penalties following their goalless draw in the other semi-final played earlier in Kuala Lumpur.

Japan coach Ivica Osim is concerned about the fitness of his players following their long and exhausting journey to Palembang for their AFC Asian Cup third place play-off match against Korea Republic on Saturday night.

The Japanese side arrived in Palembang on Friday night, less than 24 hours before the match, after a long trip from Hanoi to the Sumatran city via Kuala Lumpur and Jakarta.

Following their arrival, the team held a late night training session at the Gelora Sriwijaya Stadium, which finished at 11:30 pm, and the effects of the long trip could be clearly seen when the Japan coach later appeared at the pre-match press conference.

"What kind of question is this?" retorted an angry Osim when asked if he and his team were tired before their clash against the Koreans.

"It is a clear fact that the players are tired and this is a big problem for us. The question should be is whether I should use the tired players or not because we will have to wait and see before we use them."

The 66-year-old former Yugoslavia coach is concerned that players who may be physically exhausted will be pushing themselves too hard in their eagerness to play against the Koreans.

"Despite the fact that they are tired, the players are highly motivated and although they are tired they lie about this and this is a big problem for us," he added.

"I can't control the players' feelings but this is a dangerous situation because if they are on the pitch and they are tired we will have a lot of problems and this mean that we will lose the game."

With the winners of the clash on Saturday earning an automatic berth in the 2011 AFC Asian Cup finals, Osim is well aware of the importance of the match against their long-time East Asian rivals.

"We know the importance of the match which is really important. Also we should think about who we will play because we are playing against Korea.

"However, in case (Shunsuke) Nakamura or (Naohiro) Takahara played and lost the match, people will ask, 'Why did I play with them while they are tired?'

"On the other hand, if we rested them tomorrow and we lost, people will say, 'Why we didn't use them?'

"I don't know exactly the significance of the game between Korea and Japan," he added.

"But what I know is that Korea will be motivated against us and they will give us a lot of problems especially that they know our team very well.

"We will be at a disadvantage tomorrow as our handicap will be fatigue."

Korea Republic claimed third place in the AFC Asian Cup 2007 after defeating Japan 6-5 in a penalty shootout at the Gelora Sriwijaya Stadium in penalty shootout on Saturday.

Despite being reduced to 10 men after the 56th minute dismissal of Kang Min-soo, the Koreans were able to hold their East Asian rival goalless before skipper Lee Woon-jae stopped Naotake Hanyu in the shootout to give his side an invaluable win.

It was the third consecutive 0-0 draw for the Koreans but their victory in the third place play-off meant that they earned an automatic berth in the 2011 Asian Cup finals.

Korea coach Pim Verbeek made three changes to the squad that lost against Iraq in the semi-finals as he brought in Kim Do-heon for the injured Choi Sung-kuk and replaced midfielders Kim Sang-sik and Son Dae-ho with Kim Jung-woo and Oh Jang-eun.

Japan coach Ivica Osim made only one change from the side that lost 3-2 to Saudi Arabia with midfielder Satoru Yamagishi replacing Seiichiro Maki, leaving Naohiro Takahara as the team's lone striker.

Japan started the match brightly and created the first chance on seven minutes when Shunsuke Nakamura sent Yasuhito Endo clear with a neat chip only for the midfielder to drag his shot wide of the post.

Three minutes later, defender Kang Min-soo became the first player to go into the book of United Arab Emirates referee Ali Al Badwawi for a foul on Naohiro Takahara on the edge of the area.

However, the Japanese failed to take advantage from the resulting free-kick as Yasuhito Endo sent the ball directly at goalkeeper Lee.

The Koreans began to get into the game and had a chance of their own in the 16th minute when Yeom Ki-hun fired a fierce shot from the edge of the area that went narrowly wide of the Japanese upright.

Japan survived another scare on 25 minutes when Yeom fired another free kick towards goal only to see goalkeeper Yoshikatsu Kawaguchi punch the ball out for a corner.

Four minutes before the break, Kim Do-heon tested Kawaguchi with a fierce shot from outside the area but the Japanese skipper punched the ball away once again.

Two minutes later, Japan very nearly opened the scoring after a corner from Shunsuke Nakamura was met in the six-yard box by Yuji Nakazawa but the central defender was unable to beat Lee Woon-jae who made a point blank save while Naohiro Takahara failed to follow up as the loose ball was hacked off the goal line by Kim Do-heon.

The Koreans had the upper hand at the start of the second half and went close in the 54th minute when Kim Chi-woo sent a powerful drive over the crossbar while Lee Chun-soo's header off a Kim Do-heon corner bounced narrowly wide.

The match took a dramatic turn in the 56th minute when Kang Min-soo was given his marching orders after a body check on Takahara.

Verbeek and two of his assistants were also dismissed by the referee for taking their protests too far.

Japan nearly took advantage of the extra man in the 73rd minute when substitute Naotake Hanyu received a neat pass from Shunsuke Nakamura and fired in a powerful shot that was superbly blocked by Lee Woon-jae.

Despite their numerical superiority, the Japanese struggled to break down the resolute Korean defence but very nearly won the match in the fourth minute of stoppage time when substitute Hisato Sato's shot from the left of the Korean box went inches wide of the far post.

Japan dominated extra time and could have opened the scoring right at the end of the first period when Nakamura's cross cum shot from the left of the box went just in front of Sato.

With only four minutes remaining In the second period, Naotake Hanyu pounced on a loose ball inside the Korean area but saw powerful shot blocked on the goal-line by defender Kim Chi-Gon.

Two minutes later, Japan went close again when Yuichi Komano's low cross from the left flank was flicked by Sato towards goal but once again Lee Woon-jae made a superb save to preserve his fourth consecutive clean sheet.

Both sides clinically netted their first five spot kicks but after Kim Chi-woo had put the Koreans in front 6-5, Hanyu's centrally-struck attempt was kept out by the raised right hand of Lee, giving the Koreans their second shootout win of the tournament.