Asian Cup of Nations 2015

the S.Korean v Oman game had a really good crowd, quite loud aswell . Was really surprised since it was raining.

Forza wrote:

Natalie Portman wrote:Uzbekistan vs. North Korea tonight

The 2342 fans who turn up for that are sure in for a treat!

12,078 actually, it was awesome .
Got to move back a row, say 'the rain surely can't reach us now', move back again, etc, etc until I ended up near the back and gave up.
Last minute corner the North Koreans were close to converting .

beatrixasdfghjk. wrote:

Forza wrote:

Natalie Portman wrote:Uzbekistan vs. North Korea tonight

The 2342 fans who turn up for that are sure in for a treat!

12,078 actually, it was awesome .
Got to move back a row, say 'the rain surely can't reach us now', move back again, etc, etc until I ended up near the back and gave up.
Last minute corner the North Koreans were close to converting .

Well done to the Uzbeks

Gutted. Absolutely gutted.

Only Qatar can go from winning the Gulf Cup of Nations 2 months ago to losing against UAE 4-1.

I just hope we don't lose by a similar margin in our next 2 games

Just got back from Iran-Bahrain. Incredible atmosphere, the best I've experienced at a match before. 17, 712 at the stadium which was absolutely rocking from well before kick off to the final whistle. I'll post some pictures and more detailed thoughts on the match tomorrow but a well deserved victory.

Ive watched most of the games on TV so far. Huge success for me. The atmosphere has been great! Dem Iran fans!

Some great football.

Australia were probably the most impressive so far, but Kuwait didn't offer anything in attack and to concede again at a set-piece was very poor. I expect Oman to test us a little more, but going forward we looked good. Important to learn how to break down a team that parks the bus (something this team hasn't really faced yet).

Luongo showing great promise. Ryan was superb. And my oh my, Leckie has some acceleration! I feel we've got to find space for Tommy Oar. He's been superb in the Eredivisie... Quite odd.

Japan will flog Palestine obviously. Difficult to get a read on that.

Korea looked pretty good, but suspect defensively. I fancy our chances there. Song Heung-Min is a crack though. Looks in great touch.

Iran didn't dominate as much as I thought they might, but they've got some very gifted players. Dejagah was superb. Struggled for the killer blow though.

Japan-Aussie final looks a pretty good bet, but early days!

Can we take this thread to General Section till the tournament ends?

http://www.foxsports.com.au/football/asian-cup/asian-cup-2015-china-grateful-for-sage-advice-from-12-year-old-ball-boy/story-e6frf4fu-1227182454818

This kid is going places.

@ifitkhar: I do like the suggestion but I will consult the other staff before moving it temporarily.

Once more, I must commend the Iranian crowd last night which completely drowned out the opening day crowd despite pulling 8,000 less people. They showed exemplary passion and provided the sort of home team atmosphere that a tournament host dreams of creating. Their team, whilst not playing the most dominant game, duly rewarded the crowd with a performance that was comfortable if not spectacular. Whilst Bahrain created opportunities to test Iran from set plays they were sloppy in midfield, too often turning over the ball when playing out from their own half and failing to stretch Iran's defence in the first half. Iran by contrast were able to regularly create opportunities for their wingers to attack the Bahraini fullbacks in 1v1 situations through excellent combination play on the flanks. They struggled to find a quality final ball however and lacked options in the centre. Bahrain's back four, whilst under fairly constant pressure were at the very least holding an excellent line to catch Iran offside on numerous occasions - they had the ball in the back of the net from offside positions three times - whilst their goalkeeper did well to immediately crowd out the forward when this trap failed on one occasion in the first half. Iran's opener had a sense of inevitability about it however and came at a particularly cruel time psychologically, sending them into the half time break with a crucial lead. It was a fine strike after a set piece was not cleared and ensured that the crowd were satisfied at the half time break.

Bahrain were certainly more positive with the ball in the second half however the key issue was a lack of movement up front and a tendency from their fullbacks to take too many touches in attack. They were overly reliant upon long balls to their centre forward, No 14, but he was well marshalled all evening. Whilst he used the ball well to spread the play when he did receive it, he was seldom able to control the ball and turn and his only meaningful contributions, two decent shots aside, came from peeling off into space behind the fullback to pick the ball up wide. The attacking strategy from Bahrain however was unclear and they were wasteful when presented with set piece opportunities. Their own failure to deal with another Iran corner proved the death of them with Iran getting a two goal buffer with twenty minutes to play which all but sealed the game. It was on balance however a deserved scoreline.

Teams Line Up:

The Crowd Builds:

Kick off:

Celebrating the Opener:

Bahrain lines up a freekick:

I think iftikhar has a point. For better visibility this thread will be in the GenSec during the Asian Cup.

dostoevsky, rwo (hopefully baldy arty don't roam this pasture).

BTW those in Pakistan/India/Bangladesh, can you tell me which channel telecast the games?

Loving the tourney so far, all the teams i don't like are losing.

Aussies playing tonight, get in.

Australia winning their match against Oman, South Korea already won against Kuwait.

I am feeling like the only points Arab teams are going to get is against other Arab teams. Frankly, this is probably the worst collective performance from West Asia.

They can't use their money this tourney

Hopefully Iraq's the only nation that does make it past the group stages.

Another 4 goals, another good win.

It's nice to see this under Ange, hopefully we continue this form till the end, should be a good final if it ends up us vs Japan.

So when are Spurs resigning Luongo?

mr-r34 wrote:They can't use their money this tourney

Hopefully Iraq's the only nation that does make it past the group stages.

Another 4 goals, another good win.

It's nice to see this under Ange, hopefully we continue this form till the end, should be a good final if it ends up us vs Japan.

Iran vs. Australia in semis on the Australia day.

first match since that 1997 WC qualifier pls

really hope North Korea beat Saudi today so dream quarter final of DPRK vs. South Korea stays alive !

Natalie Portman wrote:

mr-r34 wrote:They can't use their money this tourney

Hopefully Iraq's the only nation that does make it past the group stages.

Another 4 goals, another good win.

It's nice to see this under Ange, hopefully we continue this form till the end, should be a good final if it ends up us vs Japan.

Iran vs. Australia in semis on the Australia day.

first match since that 1997 WC qualifier pls

really hope North Korea beat Saudi today so dream quarter final of DPRK vs. South Korea stays alive !

Lets hope they both come out Sepi, so we can get some payback please.

mr-r34 wrote:They can't use their money this tourney

Hopefully Iraq's the only nation that does make it past the group stages.

Another 4 goals, another good win.

It's nice to see this under Ange, hopefully we continue this form till the end, should be a good final if it ends up us vs Japan.

First, not all Arab teams have money to spend. Both Jordan and Palestine are piss poor. And Oman are not actually rich, neither is Kuwait or Bahrain these days.

Second, due to the group's make-up, the minimum number of Arab teams to qualify is 2. (There are two groups with 3 Arab teams)

First, it was a joke.....

mr-r34 wrote:First, it was a joke.....

You hoping that Iraq is the only Arab nation that qualifies makes it seem less like a joke and more like thinly veiled stereotyping.

I can't even see what stereotype you think I'm trying to portray though. No one in their right mind would actually think all the Arab countries have money.

Maybe i just wanted Iraq to one up all other Arab nations.

Legit Shaolin Soccer from China, who have been the pleasant surprise package.

Good to see them doing well with so many fans in Australia.



1st goal at 1:40. A creative assist.

Honestly how good have the attendances been so far. A lot of noise from what people would call small crowds. Palestine against Japan was great. 12k today with the Saudis and North korea, at 6pm on a weekday, doesnt seem flash, but thats very good for a tournament like this with them two countries playing here.

Apparently on track to beat the overall attendance for a Asian cup.

yea been very surprised with the crowd attendance... thought it was gonna be fairly empty... but its been decent/good, crowd were very vocal aswell which is a good.

DAT North Korean defending vs. Saudi ...wow. Can't believe how bad they have gotten since getting into the WC 5 years ago. since KJI died, North Korean football has been going downhill.

What a result for China ....it's great somehow that both final matches of Groups A and B has one useless game and one cup final.

Korea has to beat Australia to win group.
Uzbekistan have to beat Saudi to qualify.

I don't think Korea to too bothered too...they'd probably rather face Japan in semis than Iran anyways given the recent record of H-2-H between the two teams.

Natalie Portman wrote:DAT North Korean defending vs. Saudi ...wow. Can't believe how bad they have gotten since getting into the WC 5 years ago. since KJI died, North Korean football has been going downhill.

What a result for China ....it's great somehow that both final matches of Groups A and B has one useless game and one cup final.

Korea has to beat Australia to win group.
Uzbekistan have to beat Saudi to qualify.

I don't think Korea to too bothered too...they'd probably rather face Japan in semis than Iran anyways given the recent record of H-2-H between the two teams.

tbh they do rather well against Iran in official matches, it's the friendlies that is killing them.