Australia’s Group A rival South Korea has begun its Asian Cup campaign with a 1-0 win over Oman in Canberra.

Cho Young-cheol netted in first-half injury time – his first ever goal for his country – as the Koreans edged the Gulf team in a packed Canberra Stadium.

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But it wasn’t all good news for the Asian heavyweights, with full-back Kim Chang-soo limping off in the first half and attacker Lee Chung-yong suffering the same fate in the second.

Bolton star Lee fell victim to a heavy challenge from Ahmed Saleem Al Mukhaini in the 69th minute and tried to play on he was forced off eight minutes later.

The win means South Korea join Australia at the top of Group A on three points, with the Socceroos ahead on goal difference after beating Kuwait 4-1 in Melbourne on Friday night.

In Group B, Uzbekistan defeated North Korea 1-0 in a turgid clash at the Sydney Football Stadium.

On a wet evening, Igor Sergeev headed home in the 62nd minute to seal the win for Uzbekistan.

There was late drama as North Korea nearly headed in the equaliser in the last play of the game from a corner, but Uzbekistan held on to claim the three points.

And China rode its luck to grab a 1-0 win over Saudi Arabia in its opener in Brisbane on Saturday night.

With opportunities at a premium, the match turned on an incident in the 62nd minute, when Chinese goalkeeper Wang Dalei was yellow-carded and gave away a penalty for a foul on striker Naif Hazazi.

Hazazi stepped up to take the spot-kick, but his poor shot was saved by Wang to keep the score at 0-0.

Having failed to take the opportunity, Saudi Arabia was punished with 10 minutes left, when Hai Yu’s long-distance free-kick was deflected by a Saudi defender past keeper Waleed Abdullah into the net.

The win puts China level at the top of Group B with Uzbekistan.