TAIPEI -- Nippon Ham Fighters right hander Hayato Nakamura pitched a two-hitter over six innings and Lotte Marines southpaw Kosuke Kato held the rest scoreless as Japan defeated South Korea 3-1 in the quarterfinals of the championship bracket of World Cup baseball Friday.

In what was also a rematch of the bronze medal game at last year's Sydney Olympics won by South Korea 3-1, Nakamura clinched his second win of the tournament despite giving up the game-tying run -- for South Korea's only run -- in the second inning.

Hanshin Tigers outfielder Taichiro Kamisaka then hit a bases-loaded RBI groundout for the go-ahead in a no-out situation in the fourth inning at Tienmou stadium.

Orix BlueWave outfielder Ikuro Katsuragi added an insurance run in the seventh on a sacrifice fly with runners on bases to seal the victory for Japan, who completed the preliminary round of World Cup baseball with a perfect 7-0 mark.

On Saturday Japan will face defending champion Cuba, which defeated the Dominican Republic 3-1.

In Friday's other late game Tsai Chung-nan struck out 10 batters and gave up one hit in eight innings as Taiwan beat the Netherlands 2-0.

The Taiwanese on Saturday play the United States, who beat Taiwan 6-0 during the round-robin part of the 16-team tournament.

U.S. manager Terry Francona said he didn't care who his team played next: "We're not scared of anybody and we respect everybody."

On Friday, Taiwan combined Tsai's strong pitching with powerful hitting by infielder Chang Tai-shan, who hit a home run, and catcher Hong I-chung, who smacked an RBI triple.

Earlier Friday, Chris Snopek homered and hit an RBI double as the United States beat Panama 7-2. Relief pitcher Thomas Shearn, property of the Houston Astros, got his first win in the 16-team tournament, striking out three batters and allowing no hits or runs in 2 2-3 innings.

The United States took an early lead on Ken Huckaby's RBI single. Huckaby plays for Triple-A Tucson in the Arizona Diamondbacks' organization.

The Americans scored a second run in the fourth when Snopek, who plays minor league ball for the Chicago Cubs' organization, homered.

Panama tied the score in the fifth inning on a homer by Roberto Gutierrez and an RBI double by Freddy Herrera.

In the sixth inning, the Americans regained the lead when Snopek's double drove in Huckaby, who collided with catcher Julio Mosquera, forcing him to drop the ball.

The Americans increased their lead to 6-2 in the seventh on Huckaby's second RBI single. They added another run in the eighth on designated hitter Marty Malloy's RBI single.

The last time the United States played in the quarterfinals was in 1994, when they lost to Cuba 15-2. The 16-team tournament is organized by the Switzerland-based International Baseball Federation.

Although Taiwan has a large community of U.S. expatriates, few attended the game in the capital, Taipei. Teams from Japan and Canada have drawn large crowds of expat supporters to their games.

Francona said the empty stands didn't bother him. "I didn't look. I just cared about how we played."