BEIJING, July 27: Jordan reached the Asian Cup quarterfinals on the first attempt on Tuesday, finishing second in their group behind South Korea. Beaming with pride, Jordan's King Abdullah - who attended the match in Beijing sporting a national team shirt - gave the side his royal seal of approval after an historic 0-0 draw.

Meanwhile, South Korea showed glimpses of the form that swept them to the World Cup semifinals two years ago, demolishing Kuwait 4-0 in Jinan to claim top spot in Group B on seven points.

The East Asian champions will play the runners-up in Group D, likely to be Iran, in the last eight on Saturday. Jordan, dubbed the "Greece of Asia" during the Asian Cup in China, will play the winners of Group D. Japan lead that group by two points from Iran, who they face on Wednesday.

"For the king to come to training yesterday and watch the match today gave the team a huge lift," said Jordan's assistant coach Alaa Nabil. "This was a great achievement for Jordan to get to the quarterfinals in our first Asian Cup."

Jordan, who finished with five points after two goalless draws and a dramatic late 2-0 victory over Kuwait, intend to be more positive in the quarterfinals, according to Nabil.

"It will depend on if we play Iran or Japan, but we will try to be more attacking. Of course we are more familiar with Iran, so Iran might suit us better," he said. Jordan upset Iran 1-0 in Tehran earlier this year to seize the initiative in their 2006 World Cup qualifying group.

South Korea, who have not won the Asian Cup for 44 years, suddenly came to life after two lacklustre performances as they overpowered 1980 winners Kuwait in front of 31,000 in Jinan.

Striker Lee Dong-gook, top scorer at the 2000 Asian Cup with five goals, scored a first-half double to increase his tally to a tournament-leading three goals. Lee, who was overlooked for the 2002 World Cup by former coach Guus Hiddink, opened the scoring with a sweetly struck free kick in the 25th minute.

He then tucked in a low cross from Park Jin-sub four minutes before halftime. Strike partner Cha Duri lashed home a third in first-half stoppage time. Substitute Ahn Jung-hwan completed the rout with a long-distance effort in the 76th minute as South Korea underlined their title credentials.

They also gained a measure of revenge after losing to Kuwait at the last two Asian Cups. "It was the first time South Korea beat Kuwait in a long while," said South Korea coach Jo Bonfrere. "The first goal gave us confidence and, by the time we scored the third, we were in control." -Reuters