Bahrain - India game was a snoozefest but a late Bahrain penalty knocks India out and is likely to see Bahrain through in third. Thailand finish second despite losing to India in their opener.
Bahrain - India game was a snoozefest but a late Bahrain penalty knocks India out and is likely to see Bahrain through in third. Thailand finish second despite losing to India in their opener.
It was pretty clear that was always going to be the case. If anything, Iâm surprised even two of the groups went down to the wire in terms of a battle for the top two spots. I donât see any of the third-ranking teams that make the next round going any further than that.
Based on the first half hour of the overnight game, the furthest we can hope to get is Korea in the semi finals.
Semi final would be a pretty good achievement, to be honest. We donât have the best squad at the tournament and weâre definitely down a few key players anyway. Even if we got past Uzbekistan or Japan, we will very likely have to beat the hosts to get to the semis. Even without Omar Abdulrahman, thatâs not going to be easy. West Asian teams are tough to beat on their turf.
Also, its really about time South Korea win the Asian Cup again. It boggles the mind that theyâve gone 59 years without winning it again!
Its too bad I likely wonât be awake at 3am because I can see Saudi Arabia vs Qatar being a really interesting match given the political tensions between the two nations in recent years.
Qatar win 2-0.
So the third placed teams are:
Bahrain 0 / 4
Kyrgyzstan 0 / 3
Oman 0 / 3
Vietnam -1 / 3
Lebanon -1 / 3
Palestine -3 / 2
Curiously, India finished fourth in Group A with an identical record (one win / four scored / four against) to Kyrgyzstan and Oman.
Huge shame for India. It really should be best record.
India were incredibly unlucky. If they just held on a few more minutes against Bahrain, they wouldâve finished second in their group. Its clear theyâve made a lot of progress recently so theyâre doing something right over there. As much as we give their Superannuation League shit, its also giving them exposure to quality (albeit usually past it) foreign professional players. That has to be helping more often than not.
The part thatâs underestimated with the whole âpast itâ players moving to leagues like the ISL and the A League is the influence that they can have on younger players in the team.
Jordan ahead 1-0 but Vietnam giving a good account of themselves. Theyâre going to be a strong team by the time the next Asian Cup rolls around. Very fun game to watch so far.
Amer Shafi described as the âWhale of Asiaâ. One of the weirder descriptions Iâve heard. Heâs done pretty well in this game so far.
Vietnam scored and then won on penalties!
Very good for Asian football. Jordan must wondering how they can top a group with the defending champions and still go out in the round of 16
Magic of the cup?
Japan 1 up against Saudi Arabia. Hope they kick on with it
Japan have looked decidedly sub par this second half.
I didnât think it would be possible, but this tournament is really making me miss the sound of vuvuzelas.
Some dreadful finishing by the Saudis. Really only have themselves to blame if they lose this.
I reckon just about any other team left in the tournament would have pushed Japan to extra time there at the very least.
Weâre not the only one to struggle against lesser opposition: looks like it took South Korea extra time to beat Bahrain.
Also Qatar beating Iraq feels like a decent upset.
All three of Iranâs goals in their QF come off some pretty questionable defending by the Chinese.