BEIRUT -- Japan survived a hostile "away" crowd, an early penalty and a second-half barrage by Saudi Arabia on Sunday to win the Asian Cup final 1-0 on a neatly taken goal from Kyoto midfielder Shigeyoshi Mochizuki.

Philippe Troussier's side, booed throughout by a capacity crowd of 49,500 at Beirut Sports City Stadium, almost gifted the Saudis a 10th-minute lead when Mochizuki fouled midfielder Talal al-Meshal in the box. But striker Hamzah Idris dragged his penalty well wide.

The Japanese, who had crushed the defending champions 4-1 in the group stage, responded to their good fortune with Jubilo Iwata striker Naohiro Takahara coming close twice, before Mochizuki swept in a free-kick from Shunsuke Nakamura in the 30th minute.

Nakamura's left-wing cross had too much pace for the Saudi defenders and Mochizuki -- starting as cover for the suspended Junichi Inamoto -- reacted quickest to steer the ball past veteran goalkeeper Mohammed al-Daeyea.

Japan went close in the 42nd minute as a left-foot rocket from Nakamura grazed the crossbar after a some brilliant work down the left flank by Hiroaki Morishima, but Saudi Arabia turned up the heat in the second half and made the Japanese sweat for their second Asian Cup title.

Champions in Hiroshima in 1992, when they also edged the Saudis 1-0 in the final, Japan fought a rearguard action after the interval as Saudi Arabia piled on the pressure.

Japan's luck held, however, through a combination of poor finishing and some brilliant goalkeeping from Man of the Match Yoshikatsu Kawaguchi.

Soon after the restart, substitute Mohammad al-Shloob and midfielder Nawaf al-Temyat sent long-range shots skimming past the post, before a looping effort from al-Shloob forced Kawaguchi to make a spectacular, flying tip-over in the 59th minute.

Five minutes later, the Yokohama keeper made a stunning reflex save off a header from al-Meshal, before English-based striker Sami al-Jaber contrived to send a free header over Kawaguchi's crossbar.

The Japanese, who had played some lovely one-touch football in the first half, created chances on the break, with striker Akinori Nishizawa first bringing a low save from al-Daeyea and then getting his feet in a tangle after good work on the right from Mochizuki.

Japan missed Inamoto's presence in front of the back three, but Tomokazu Myojin and Hiroshi Nanami, voted Player of the Tournament, worked tirelessly to compensate, putting constant pressure on the Saudis in midfield.

Troussier didn't allow his players to be complacent. He sent on Atsushi Yanagisawa for Olympic teammate Takahara in the 82nd minute, but the Kashima striker failed to retain possession of the ball, and was taken off again after just seven minutes. "He didn't do what I asked him to," Troussier noted.

Kawaguchi came to Japan's rescue again in the 87th minute with the best save of the night, diving to his right and flicking his arm out to divert an awkward 25-meter drive from al-Temyat that bounced just in front of the goal. The Saudi players shook their heads in disbelief.

"We were lucky because if they'd scored the penalty, anything could have happened. But this victory will be a huge boost for Japanese football," said Troussier, who praised the battling qualities of his players.

"The whole crowd was behind Saudi Arabia, but my players came in and won the cup away from home," said the Frenchman, pointing out that Japan had made history by becoming the first East Asian team to win the tournament on the western side of the continent.

S. Koreans finish third

Earlier, striker Lee Dong Gook scored the only goal of the game as South Korea defeated China 1-0 in the third-place playoff to salvage some pride ahead of the 2002 World Cup, which the country will co-host with Japan.

Lee, who crashed in a pass from substitute Kang Chul in the 76th minute, finished as the Asian Cup's top scorer with six goals, one more than Japanese strikers Takahara and Nishizawa.

"I can't say I'm satisfied with third place overall because we came here to win the Cup," South Korean coach Huh Jung Moo commented. "We missed lots of chances again today, but the players did their best."