BANGKOK, Feb 20: North Korea secured a place in the King’s Cup final on Thursday but only after walking off the pitch in protest during an ill-tempered 2-2 draw with Qatar.

The Korean team staged a 15-minute protest after Qatar scored an equalising second goal early in the second half, which Korean officials said should have been disallowed for offside.

Thai organisers had to coax the North Koreans back on to the pitch, after the team’s coaches and officials had crowded around television screens demanding to see a replay of the incident.

Qatar drew level at 2-2 on 52 minutes when three players ran on to a floated free kick into the box while the North Korean defence tried to spring the offside trap.

Earlier, a dominant second-half display helped Sweden thrash Thailand 4-1 to book their place in the final.

Thailand will play in the third/fourth place playoff against Qatar on Saturday.—Reuters