Uli Stielike praised his South Korea side for their best performance of the Asian Cup so far after winning Group A with a 1-0 victory over hosts Australia.
After less-than-convincing 1-0 successes against Oman and Kuwait, Lee Jung-hyub's 32nd-minute strike settled a high-tempo encounter in Brisbane on Saturday.
"I think the performance today was extraordinary from both teams," German coach Stielike said.
"We were the winners 1-0 at the end but we saw possibilities from Australia. It could have been 1-1.
"For us, the result was not so important. We were already qualified [for the quarter-finals].
"For us, it was about how we played and this was our best performance. It was a very tough but our players gave 100 per cent.
"I told the players before the game not to worry about the result. They played with a winning mentality, a tournament mentality and with this mentality, we can go forward."
South Korea will now play the runner-up in Group B in the quarter-final, with Saudi Arabia and Uzbekistan meeting on Sunday.
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