Soccer-Australia's Luongo named MVP at Asian Cup

SYDNEY, Jan 31 (Reuters) - Massimo Luongo was named the Most Valuable Player at the 2015 Asian Cup after scoring the opening goal for Australia in Saturday's final against South Korea at Sydney's Olympic Stadium. The 22-year-old midfielder capped a brilliant performance throughout the tournament when he scored in the 45th minute, blasting the ball into the net with a shot from 25 metres out. Australia went on to win the match 2-1 after extra time after Son Heung-min equalised for South Korea in stoppage time then James Troisi put the host-nation back in front during extra time. Luongo, who plays for Swindon Town in the third tier of English club soccer, made his international debut last year and was picked in the Australian squad for the World Cup but didn't play a match. But Luongo has since established himself as one of Australia's most promising young players and forced his way into the starting lineup. He scored a goal and was named man of the match in Australia's opening match at the Asian Cup against Kuwait and was also named player of the match in the semi-final win over United Arab Emirates. (Reporting by Julian Linden; editing by Amlan Chakraborty)