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Jordan knocks out Saudi Arabia
Jordan dumped three-times champion Saudi Arabia out of the Asian Cup on Thursday with a 1-0 victory courtesy of a goalkeeping howler by Waleed Abdullah.
It has been a traumatic few days for Saudi Arabia, whose quest for a first Asian Cup since 1996 got off to a disastrous start when it was beaten 2-1 by outsider Syria, in its opening game on Sunday.
The regional giant became the first team to be eliminated from the tournament, while surprise-package Jordan is left sitting pretty at the top of Group B with four points, with one more game to go.
Missed chance
Saudi Arabia should have been ahead within a minute of the post-Peseiro era, but defender Osama Al Harbi completely missed his header right in front of goal. |
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Japan beat Syria in Asian Cup thriller
By Shigemi Sato (AFP) – 5 hours ago
DOHA — Ten-man Japan struggled past Syria 2-1 in a high-octane and controversial Asian Cup group match Thursday to keep alive their hopes of reaching the knockout rounds.
Captain Makoto Hasebe opened the scoring for the three-time champions in the 35th minute but Syria pulled one back from a penalty controversially awarded against goalkeeper Eiji Kawashima on 76 minutes.
Kawashima was adjudged to have brought down Sanharib Malki despite the player being flagged offside.
Japanese players and team officials protested loudly but Iranian referee Torky Mohsen gave a penalty and dismissed the goalkeeper in chaotic scenes.
Shusaku Nishikawa came on as a replacement and the first thing he had to do was pick the ball from the back of the net after Firas Al Khatib calmly converted the spot kick.
Down to 10 men, Japan nevertheless stepped up a gear and their World Cup hero Keisuke Honda slotted in the winner from another penalty six minutes later.
"The referee's decision was wrong," Japan coach Alberto Zaccheroni said.
"We confirmed the linesman raised the flag but the referee ruled it was not an offside, saying that the ball was in the process of a Japanese back pass," said the former AC Milan boss. "We will check the video again."
Syrian's Romanian coach Tita Valeriu hit back: "I agreed that the red card against the Japanese goalkeeper was correct."
"This goalkeeper deserved that red card because our player was alone at the back and he hindred him."
But Zaccheroni, leading Japan's bid to regain the title they lost in 2007, said he was satisfied with the way Japan played.
"It was totally a one-sided game for Japan," he said. "Our 10 men worked as if they were 11. They fought gallantly."
Japan badly needed the three points to live up to their World Cup credentials after salvaging a 1-1 draw with Jordan in their opener.
Jordan beat Saudi Arabia 1-0 in the earlier Group B game to put the Gulf giants out of contention, with Japan and Jordan now on four points, Syria on three and the Saudis down and out on zero.
The Blue Samurai struggled to penetrate a tight Syria defence at the outset.
They almost opened their account in the 11th minute when leading J-League striker Ryoichi Maeda headed a right cross from Atsuto Uchida in front of goal but the ball swerved onto the left side of the net.
Japan started to find more rhythm but squandered a chance on 34 minutes when Yasuyuki Konno's header was well stopped by Syrian goalkeeper Mosab Balhous.
But a minute later Hasebe opened their account with a beautifully placed right-footer from just inside the box on a cross from Daisuke Matsui after some good work by Honda.
Honda dribbled deep into the right side of the area and hooked a cross to Matsui who turned around to feed the ball to Hasebe.
Maeda attempted two close-range shots within five minutes just before half-time, shooting off the left post and heading over an Endo corner, as Japan turned up the heat.
After the break, Syria started to fight back, with Mohamad Al Zino having a decent chance on 55 minutes.
In 62nd minute, Al Dyab connected with a Al Khatib corner but his header bounced into Kawashima's arms.
Soon after the Lierse SK custodian was sent off for the controversial penalty, but Japan showed character to win the match in the 82nd minute when Ali Dyab pulled down substitute striker Shinji Okazaki.
Honda stepped up to bury the ball in the back of the net.
A desperate Syria threw everyone forward in a bid to find the equaliser but despite six minutes of extra time they left the pitch empty-handed. |
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kuat gak jordan leh kalahkan arab saudi  |
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naik tocang habis puak2 saudi |
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Keputusan perlawanan semalam
dan kedudukan kumpulan C selepas perlawanan semalam
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Socceroos share spoils with South Korea
Liam Fitzgibbon
January 15, 2011 - 4:49AM
AAP
Mile Jedinak's first international goal has earned the Socceroos a valuable 1-1 draw with fellow Asian Cup heavyweights South Korea in their Group C clash in Doha.
Australia trailed 1-0 at halftime after a lapse in concentration allowed Koo Ja-Cheol to put South Korea ahead in the 24th minute in front of 15,526 fans at Al Gharafa Stadium.
But after Australia had squandered a host of opportunities to equalise, Jedinak levelled in the 62nd minute with a close-range header.
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The result on Friday night put Australia in a strong position to progress to the knockout stages, needing only a draw in their last match against Bahrain on Tuesday to go through, though top spot remains up for grabs.
Korea, led by their impressive captain and Manchester United star Park Ji-Sung, looked superior at times but the Socceroos had as many, if not more, clear-cut chances on goal.
They could have conceivably gone into halftime ahead, with striker Harry Kewell and Tim Cahill squandering a handful of chances.
The first fell to Kewell in just the seventh minute, but he put it over the bar from close range after Brett Emerton's free kick.
Cahill then had what looked a reasonable shout for a penalty turned away in the 14th after he was barged over in the box and the game looked fairly even when South Korea struck.
The mobility of Australia's centre backs Lucas Neill and Sasa Ognenovski had been questioned in the build up and the pair should have done better to prevent Ji Dong-Won collecting a long ball from goalkeeper Jung Sungryong inside the box.
The striker then offloaded to Koo, who was allowed an alarming amount of time and space before hammering the ball past Mark Schwarzer for his third goal of the tournament after scoring both in the 2-1 win over Bahrain.
Korea continued to apply the pressure with Ji Dong-Won testing Schwarzer again before Kewell almost equalised when he sent a thunderous free kick just over the bar.
The Galatasaray star wasted another chance shortly after, hitting across the face of goal after some good work from the impressive Brett Holman.
Another chance went begging as Kewell cleverly dummied a Holman pass but Cahill took too long to pull the trigger in the 40th minute.
Osieck, who kept faith in the same starting eleven from the 4-0 win over India, was forced to withdraw Jason Culina due to injury at halftime, with Carl Valeri taking his place.
But it was his other starting central midfielder Jedinak who got the breakthrough.
The Genclerbirligi midfielder, in his 20th appearance from Australia, rose impressively to head the ball home after Neill had floated a ball back across the face of goal from a Wilkshire corner.
Both sides continued to attack and Korea came closest to finding a winner, Ki Sung-Yueng denied in the 87th minute by a fine Schwarzer save.
Australia also lost Wilkshire to injury in the second half, with Jade North coming off the bench late, along with Matt McKay. |
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Keputusan perlawanan semalam
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Iran beats North Korea 1-0 in Asian Cup
DOHA, Qatar (AP) — Iran clinched a place in the quarterfinals of the Asian Cup by beating North Korea 1-0 on Saturday, thanks to a second-half goal from Karim Ansari.
The striker converted a cross from midfielder Pejman Nouri in the 62nd minute.
"It's a fantastic achievement to qualify for the quarterfinals in our group that was a group of death in this tournament," Iran coach Afshin Ghotbi said. "I am very proud of our players."
North Korea dominated possession for most of the first half and kept the attack-minded Iran on the defensive, with its best chance coming from striker Jong Tae Se's free kick in the 16th. But Iran regrouped and had two chances to take the lead before Ansari netted.
North Korea captain Hong Yong Jo nearly equalized in injury time but hit the crossbar.
Iran tops Group D with six points after two games. North Korea and the United Arab Emirates each have one point and Iraq, the defending champion, is at zero.
North Korea held the United Arab Emirates to a 0-0 draw in its opening Group D match.
"We are sorry to lose chances to score in the past," North Korea coach Jo Tong Sop. "The next match (against Iraq) is very critical and we will do our best to win and advance to the next round."
Iran defeated Iraq 2-1 in its opener, and Ghotbi said the team is "on a journey to winning the Asian Cup title."
"When coming to this tournament, we wanted to win the chance to advance early in the group stage to give the team enough time to recover for the quarterfinal," Ghotbi said. |
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Asian Cup: UAE 0 - 1 Iraq
An injury-time own-goal from Waleed Abbas sends the UAE to cruel defeat, pushing them closer to the brink of a group stage exit from the Asian Cup.
Waleed attempted to cut out striker Younes Mahmoud’s late shot across goal, but the ball deflected off him and rolled over his own goal line to hand Iraq their fist points in the competition. The UAE are level with North Korea and sit at the bottom of Group D, after the Koreans went down 1-0 to Iran earlier in the day.
The match took off on a lively note, but Iraq had the first real opportunity in the seventh minute when Nashat Akram, who reserves the right to the ball in the Iraqi midfield, sent a long pass to Emad Mohammed on the left. Mohammed cut it back for Mahdi Kareem, who in turn sent a cross in at the far post where Hawar Mohammed headed behind the goal.
Three minutes later, Ismail Matar collected the ball at the half-way mark and brought it forward releasing it to Ahmad Khalil. The Al Ahli striker took control and ran towards the box, but out of ideas and Ahmed Ibrahim snatched it with relative ease.
Iraq launched another attack in the 18th when defender Ali Erhaima sent a long ball forward at Hawar who collected and squared it for target man Younes Mahmoud, only for Abbas cut it out with a well-timed slide.
At the other end, right-back Khalid Sebil crossed for Matar who took it on his chest and smashed hard, but the Ibrahim blocked well. From the ensuing corner, Hamdan Al Kamali climbed high at the near post to send a glancing header across the goalmouth and onto the far post.
Muneer brought Khalil down for another free-kick and this time Khater shot hard forcing Iraqi ‘keeper Mohammed Kassid to make a diving one-handed save to keep the ball from going into his top right-hand corner.
Seeing the UAE surge forward in their numbers, the Iraqis were tempted to do the same and their efforts nearly bore fruit in the 39th, but Akram’s shot to the bottom left corner was kept out by a diving Naser who did well despite the ball bouncing perilously in front of him.
Moments later, Akram sent a header to the crossbar from close range, but had Muneer’s thunderous 42nd minute strike from 25-yards out gone in instead of striking the post, it would have been a strong contender for goal of the tournament.
The UAE were the first side to think offence in the second session, and Matar earned a free-kick which Khater shot was straight at Kassid. At the other end, Samal Saeed sent an unchallenged header off a corner over the bar.
The UAE were denied by the framework for a second time in the 62nd as Ismail Al Hammadi danced his way into the box from the right and shot only to find the top-right angle. Khalil was replaced in the 67th, but just before his withdrawal, he shot straight at Kassid. Saeed Al Kas came on but had little impact.
Katanec was forced to replace Khater with Amir Mubarak in the 83rd minute as he came off the worse following a head-to-head collision with Muneer. Khater received a cut just above his eye and is doubtful for the last game with Iran.
Six minutes of time were added at the end, and it provided the Iraqis with the goal as the ball clipped Waleed and crossed the line. |
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 Iraq players celebrate their late goal
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Kedudukan Terkini Selepas Perlawanan Semalam
Group A
Group B
Group C
Group D
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Post Last Edit by Magika at 16-1-2011 10:17
Pasukan Yang Telah Layak Ke Suku Akhir
1) Iran
Pasukan Yang Telah Tersingkir Dari Saingan
1) Arab Saudi
2) India |
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dah macam piala arab je, banyak sangat team timur tengah..... |
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Keputusan semalam
dan kedudukan kumpulan A
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Asian Cup: Qatar carnival goes on after Kuwait win
Monday, 17 January 2011 01:36
0 Comments
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Get in: Bilal Rajab (left) celebrates with team-mate Ibrahim Majed after scoring his team’s opening goal against Kuwait
Doha erupted with joy as Qatar extended its stay in the Asian Cup with a dominating 3-0 whitewash of Gulf champions Kuwait at the Khalifa Stadium on Sunday night.
Skipper and Man of the Match Bilal Rajab Mohammed, Mohamed El Sayed and super-sub Fabio Cesar all scored to relegate Kuwait to their third-straight defeat in the competition.
The win also took Qatar through as the second-best side in Group A, with leaders Uzbekistan drawing 2-2 with China.
From the off, Qatar pounced on Kuwait and Uruguayan import Sebastian Soria earned the hosts a corner in the first minute.
But he headed high and over after the ball was swung in with Bilal getting in his way. Two minutes later, Kuwait goalkeeper Nawaf Al Khaldi punched clear a second Qatar corner.
Bruno Metsu’s men made their intentions clear early on and were not looking for a draw.
And in the seventh minute Yusef Ahmed, who scored both goals against China, raced forward with the ball and released Soria through the centre. Soria took possession, but Hussain Fadhel stumbled before making the clearance.
Ahmed made another spectacular run along the right moments later and passed the ball to Soria, the latter earning a free-kick after being felled by Talal Al Amer just outside the box.
Lawrence drove the ball in hard and it looked good to slip in under the bar but Al Khaldi was alert and tipped it over.
The goal arrived off the resulting 11th-minute corner as Soria took possession far on the left and sent a right-footed cross in for Bilal, who headed to Al Khaldi’s bottom-left corner.
The keeper got a hand to the ball but his touch wasn’t strong enough to keep it out.
The hosts doubled their lead five minutes later as Mohamed El Sayed raced into the Kuwait box to meet a long ball from the Qatar half.
Al Khaldi rushed out and was able to thwart El Sayed’s initial effort but the ball fell to Soria, who rounded the keeper and shot only for Fadhel to block with a slide.
The ball returned to El Sayed and he wittingly moved it to his right before bending it inside the far post.
Gulf champions Kuwait seemed edgy early on, but by the 25th minute they began to find their feet and their midfielders started to see a lot more of the ball.
Qatar maintained the aggression, but a few gaps started to appear in their defence.
Kuwait, however, failed to capitalise and Bader Al Mutwa registered their only shot on target in the 40th minute, when his overhead kick flew straight at Qasem Burhan in the Qatar goal.
Kuwait coach Goran Tufegdzic adopted a more aggressive stance in the second as he replaced defender Yaqoub Al Taher with forward Ahmad Ajab at half-time. But the Kuwaitis needed guts to get that tail out from between their legs.
Ajab could not provide it and Metsu held on to his player options until the 73rd minute when he injected Brazil import Cesar while withdrawing Yusef Ahmed.
Cesar wasted little time in getting stuck into the midfield but he could only string passes and created little, until his brilliant curling left-footed free-kick in the 85th minute hammered the final nail in the Kuwait coffin.
The final whistle sparked celebrations in the stands as the host nation’s party was extended into the first knockout round at least. |
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Asian Cup 2011: China 2-2 Uzbekistan: China Go Home Early As Uzbeks Secure Quarter
China have crashed out of the 2011 Asian Cup at the group stages after a 2-2 draw with Uzbekistan, while the latter have secured their spot in the quarter finals.
Gao Hongbo's young side were pipped to second spot by Qatar - who won 3-0 in their final match against Kuwait - while Uzbekistan topped Group A on seven points.
The Chinese made the perfect start when Yu Hai gave his team the lead after just seven minutes, flicking on a clever corner, a slight deflection off Odil Akhmedov leaving Ignatiy Nesterov powerless.
Only moments earlier however Maksim Shatskikh had missed a glorious opportunity to give Uzbekistan the lead, firing embarrassingly wide at the far post with the goal gaping.
An open and entertaining game of football was serving up action at both ends and Zhou Xuri rattled the crossbar with a wonderful swerving long-range effort on 21 minutes.
Deservedly the Uzbeks equalized on the half-hour mark though, as Server Djeparov played an intelligent one-two with Akhmedov, who delicatedly finished beyond the advancing goalkeeper.
Striker Gao Lin then drew what will be one of the saves of the tournament from Nesterov just six minutes later, heading owerfully towards goal from point-blank range, only to see the 'keeper somehow tip the ball over the crossbar.
Less than a minute into the second half and the game was turned on its head as Alexander Geynrikh produced a wonderstrike from range to give Vadim Abramov's men the lead.
China hit back again and equalized through Schalke player Hao Junmin, who scored a majestic free kick that dipped over the wall and underneath the crossbar with Nesterov at full stretch.
It was not enough though as Gao Lin missed a couple of guilt-edged opportunities from close range, China heading home early after a bright start to the tournament. |
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Post time 14-1-2011 08:04 AM
Author
63'
Post time 16-1-2011 04:21 PM
