AFC Asian Cup – last of the rounds. Next, quarters…

So the last games of the regular rounds were played last night (sorry about no updates – I was at the baseball). Here are the results:

• China were beaten by Uzbekistan, 3-0. This loss eliminates China.
• Saudi Arabia beat Bahrain, 4-0.
• South Korea beat Indonesia 1-0. This win, and Bahrain’s loss, eliminates Bahrain, and South Korea squeeze through!
• Iran beat Malaysia 2-0. Malaysia immediately sack their coach, Norizan Bakar.

So, the teams that qualify for the Quarter finals are set. They are as follows:

• From Pool A, Iraq & Australia
• From Pool B, Japan & Vietnam
• From Pool C, Iran & Uzbekistan
• From Pool D, Saudi Arabia & South Korea

This means the quarters shape up as:

1. Iraq vs Vietnam (21/7/07, 20:20 at Rajamangala National Stadium, Bangkok)
2. Iran vs South Korea (22/7/07, 18:20 at National Stadium Bukit Jalil, Kuala Lumpur)
3. Japan vs Australia (21/7/07, 17:20 at My Dinh National Stadium, Hanoi)
4. Saudi Arabia vs Uzbekistan (22/7/07, 20:20 at Gelora Bung Karno Stadium, Jakarta)

Some fantastic matches coming up… (all matches given in local times)

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Uzbekistan thrashes Malaysia… (Asian Cup)

National Stadium Bukit Jalil, Kuala Lumpur – Ouch.

Malaysia’s woes entered a new level now, tonight getting absolutely HAMMERED for the second time in two games losing to Uzbekistan 5-0. Sloppy defense by the home team meant that by half time, the Uzbeks had raced out to a 3-0 lead, and the game was over. Two goals late in the second half were just pouring salt on the Malaysian wounds. Malaysia have one more chance, against Iran, to try & salvage some pride.

The other game tonight finished with Saudi Arabia 2 – Indonesia 1 (apologies, I do not have access to more information, but I will update as it becomes available!)…

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Asian Cup 07 – China vs Malaysia highlights…

AFC Asian Cup 07… Here’s some footage courtesy of YouTube on the 5-1 beatdown thrashing mauling win China administered over Malaysia on July 10th.

I’m not really sure if China are really that impressive, or Malaysia are that bad. I’m leaning towards the former. We’ll see a bit more of an indication when China play Iran on Sunday. One hopes Malaysia get it together a bit better against Uzbekistan.

Accompanied by Galvanize by The Chemical Brothers…

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China destroys Malaysia… (AFC Asian Cup 07)

National Stadium Bukit Jalil, Kuala Lumpur, Malaysia – In what could only be termed as a walkover, China established itself as one of the lead teams in this year’s Asian Cup, beating demolishing Malaysia 5-1. Wang Dong & Hang Peng lead the way with 2 goals apiece (51 minutes/90 minutes for Wang, 15/55 for Hang), and Shao Jiayi pitched in with 1 at the 36 minute mark. By the time Indra Putra Mahayuddin scored the lone goal for Malaysia, China were up 4-1. Wang’s at the 90 minute mark was simply gravy, the feast had already been set.

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Another DRAW??? Qatar holds Japan… (Asian Cup Football)

A balmy night in My Dinh National Stadium, Ho Chi Minh City… and certainly not the result the current Asia Cup holders (Japan) were looking for, but after a 2nd half strike by Naohiro Takahara, Qatar came back and equalised with a late goal by the Uruguayan-born Sebastián Quintana.  And that was that… a fantastic result for Qatar, and a result that will ensure the Japanese daily papers are aflutter tomorrow.

So with 4 games down, that’s 3 1-1 draws (Thailand vs Iraq, Australia vs Oman, Japan vs Qatar). All three could be considered ‘upsets’ of a sort, as Iraq, Australia & Japan are all considered ‘Asian Powers’ in the footballing fraternity, and especially the Australian team (who only just lost to eventual winners Italy in last year’s World Cup), and Japan, who currently hold the Asian Cup title.

The only team to have actually won a game thus far is Vietnam, who defeated the more-highly-touted UAE, 2-0.

Tomorrow brings us the following games:

• Indonesia vs Bahrain, in Gelora Bung Karno Stadium, Jakarta (Indonesia)
• Malaysia vs China, in National Stadium Bukit Jalil, Kuala Lumpur (Malaysia)

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