The Asian Cup final on Saturday between host Australia and South Korea presents the familiar conundrum of the irresistible force meeting the immoveable object. Australia, the tournament’s highest-scoring team with 12 goals in five games, takes on a South Korean lineup that is yet to concede a goal in five games, including one that went to extra time — so 480 minutes of football.

That is the contrast between the teams, but what they share is a desire to add a major cup to less-than-overwhelming trophy cabinets. South Korea has not won the Asian Cup since 1960, having lost in the final three times since. Australia has a vast array of regional titles, but none since switching to the Asia in 2006. The Socceroos lost the 2011 Asian Cup final to Japan.

Home-ground advantage, at the 83,000-capacity former Olympic stadium in Sydney, plus the absence of a couple of key South Korea players, should give Australia a slight advantage.

However, Socceroos veteran forward Tim Cahill, who has scored three goals in the tournament, was aware of the difficulty of taking on the Taegeuk Warriors. “They are strong and they are very physical,’’ Cahill said. “This is definitely going to be one of our most difficult games.’’

South Korea forward Lee Keun-ho was less complimentary about his opponents. “If we can minimise our mistakes and dominate the ball, I am sure we will have opportunities (to exploit their defense),’’ Lee said. “Their center backs are slow-footed, and we can exploit space behind their defense.’’

UAE finish third

NEWCASTLE: Captain Ahmed Khalil scored goals on either side of halftime and Ali Mabkhout converted a second-half penalty as the United Arab Emirates clinched third place in the Asian Cup with a 3-2 win over a 10-man Iraq. AP