Iraq- Champions Of Asia!

A second half Younis Mahmoud header gave Iraq a 1-0 victory over Saudi Arabia and the Asian Cup for the first time in the country’s history.

With the smoke from the fireworks that lit up the sky above the Gelora Bung Karno Stadium in Jakarta still lingering, it is a great time to take a quick look back at the good and bad points of the 2007 Asian Cup.

The Good

1 – The football

The conditions may not have been conducive to fast-paced thrilling football but entertainment-wise, the 2007 Asian Cup more than holds its own against the 2006 World Cup. There were some great goals and good games. Saudi Arabia’s quarter and semi-final against Uzebkistan and Japan respectively were as exciting and open as anything you will see this year.

2- The co-hosts

Malaysia apart, the tournament showed that South-east Asian nations have what it takes to compete with the best that the continent has to offer, though home advantage certainly helped.

Thailand disposed of Oman and lived with Australia for 80 minutes. Vietnam saw off Gulf Cup champs UAE and Indonesia shocked Bahrain and fought toe-to-toe with Saudi Arabia and South Korea. The challenge is to maintain the standards.

3 – Jakarta and Hanoi

The ones who watched their heroes in Indonesia and Vietnam created atmospheres that would be hard to match elsewhere. The sights and sounds of over 90,000 Indonesian fans cheering on their heroes will live long in the memory.

4- Media interest

Often, finding things to read about Asian football in the mainstream media has been an exercise in frustration. However, July has witnessed an explosion of reporting about the competition. It remains to be seen how long this lasts but at least, awareness of Asian football is at its highest ever level. Media facilities were pretty good too.

5 –Iraq

Iraq’s triumph was a fairy tale and a welcome boost to a troubled country.

The Bad

1 - Crowd Numbers

The big problem with the tournament has been the fact that the majority of games have been played in front of largely empty stadiums. It would be optimistic in the extreme to expect all games to be sold out but the fact that in the knockout stage, only the final was played in front of anything approaching a full house was disappointing.

Little has been said on this matter by the Asian Football Confederation or the respective national bodies but this should have been objective number one from day one. With the media taking Asian football to new audiences, the first thing on view was rows of empty seats – not a good advert for Asian football.

2- Play-acting

After the World Cup, patience with the fakers and time-wasters was already wearing thin and perhaps the antics at the Asian Cup will be the straw that broke the camel’s back. ‘Grass-rolling’ happens to some extent almost everywhere but certain west Asian nations are the worst.

The sight of Saudi goalkeeper Yasser Al Mosailem literally writhing on the ground in the semi-final against Japan after hardly being touched was embarrassing.

3 –Refereeing

Hardly exclusive to the Asian Cup. Perhaps it is a fact of life in major tournaments that the standard of officiating is questionable but some of the decision-making has been erratic. Uzbekistan’s disallowed goal in the quarter-final with Saudi Arabia was the worst and some of the cards handed out have been harsh to say the least.

Korea Defeat Japan To Take Third Place

Goalkeeper Lee Woon-jae was again the hero for a resilient South Korea team that defeated Japan 6-5 on penalties Saturday evening to take third place in the 2007 Asian Cup.

After 120 minutes of goalless action, in which Kang Min-soo was controversially sent off for Korea, the 2002 World Cup semi-finalists fought for almost an hour with ten men to enter extra time and penalties for the third time in six days.

The win means that Korea will qualify automatically for the 2011 Asian Cup.

It was a lively first half with both sides having chances. Korean corners caused problems for the Japanese defence and a Yeom Ki-hoon shot from outside the area fizzed just wide of the post.

Just before the break, Lee Woon-jae pulled off a super reflex save from Yuji Nakazawa who blasted the ball goalwards from a yard out.

Lee Chun-soo almost headed Korea in the lead ten minutes after the restart but saw his effort bounce overt the bar.

A minute later, Korea were down to ten men as defender Kang Min-soo was shown a second yellow card after a foul on Naohiro Takahara. It was a very harsh decision as contact seemed minimal.

Coach Pim Verbeek and two members of his coaching staff were also given marching orders for protesting the decision.

After 73 minutes, Korea’s goalkeeper was in action again, saving smartly from a shot from Naotake Hanyu who let fly from inside the area.

Korea defended with spirit and dedication as they entered a third extra-time in the space of six days. In extra-time Hanyu came the closest when his fierce shot was blocked on the line by substitute Kim Chi-gon after 116 minutes.

Two minutes later, Lee saved well from Hisato Sato.

Penalty shootout (Korea first)

1: Cho Jae-jin scored. Shunsuke Nakamura scored

2.Oh Beom-seok scored. Yasuhito Endo scored.

3: Lee Keun-ho scored. Yuki Abe scored.

4: Lee Ho scored. Yuichi Komano scored.

5: Kim Jin-kyu scored. Yuji Nakazawa scored.

6: Kim Chi-woo scored. Naotake Hanyu saved.

West Asian Final - Brazilian Style

Sunday’s Asian Cup final between Saudi Arabia and Iraq may be an all West Asian affair but the two men at the helm are both Brazilian.

Saudi boss Helio dos Anjos and Jorvan Vieira of Iraq will pit South American wits against each other at the Gelora Bung Karno Stadium in Jakarta and Vieira can’t wait.

“This is good for Brazil. It’s a very special moment – two Brazilian coaches in one final in Asia,” Vieira was quoted as saying by the AFC official site.

“Maybe it might also happen one day in the World Cup because there are so many Brazilian coaches training national teams, you never know.

“But this is the Asian Cup - the top of the top on the Asian continent - and to have two Brazilians coaching here is very important and a very powerful statement for us.”

“We have so many coaches in Brazil who could perhaps show better than me but they have not had the opportunity. We have good standards and a good school and we have proved it as five-time World Cup champions.

“And nobody expected that we would win the recent Copa America but we did it with a new generation, new players and new coach.It’s like a gold mine of football talent and the more you look, the more you will find.”

Asian Cup 3/4 Play-Off Preview: Japan - South Korea

What: Asian Cup 3/4/place play-off
Who: South Korea, Japan
When: Saturday, July 28, (12:35 GMT)
Where: Jaka Baring Stadium, Palembang, Sumatra

It is the game that no team wants to play, the dreaded third and fourth place play-off.

This game however, has something at stake. The winner will not have to qualify for the 2011 Asian Cup, though it is debatable if that is a good thing or not.

South Korea:

“The most terrible game in football,” said coach Pim Verbeek. The team always said it would return to Indonesia after the group stage but the expectation was that the capital Jakarta would be the venue, not the Sumatran city of Palembang.

The Taeguk Warriors must be tired. Two 120 minute-games in the past six days in gruelling conditions and heavy pitches have taken their toll and there are sure to be some new faces for the clash with the old enemy.

Korea failed to score in the knockout stage and found the target just three times in the competition as a whole. Japan’s defence is more generous than most – seven goals conceded so far.

Japan

The champions are also less than overjoyed about the clash.

Japan have been one of the most impressive teams of the tournament and have hit the back of the net 11 times so far. It won’t be easy to do so against a Korean defence that has only conceded three.

The 3-2 defeat in the semi-final against Saudi Arabia was the best game of the competition.

Osim has promised changes to the tired team that lost to Saudi Arabia.

Recent History

The two last met during the 2005 East Asian Cup when a Yuji Nakazawa goal gave Japan a 1-0 win in the Korean city of Daegu.

Iraq Boss Overjoyed With Final Place

Iraq coach Jorvan Vieira was delighted with his team as they downed South Korea on penalties to book a place in the Asian Cup final for the first time.

After 120 minutes of goalless football, Iraq took the shootout 4-3.

“Everyone is happy and we have reason to be happy because this victory brings us to the final and we deserved that,” said Vieira after the game according to the AFC official site.

“Korea is a very strong team, with very fast players and we had to take care,” said Vieira.

“We were able to neutralise Korea well and we missed some opportunities. We missed more opportunities than Korea, especially in the second half and in extra time. The Koreans were down on fitness. We were tired too but we were better on the fitness side and it’s a game that will never be forgotten, especially by us.”

Iraq face Saudi Arabia in the final in Jakarta on Sunday.

“We are in the final now, we are still here and you have to support us for one more game,” said Vieira. “I’m very happy.

Saudi Coach Hails Deserved Final Place

After watching his team defeat Japan 3-2 in the semi-final of the Asian Cup Saudi Arabian coach Helio Anjos declared that the result demonstrated that his team deserved to be in the final

Two goals from Malek Maaz and a strike from Yasser Al-Qahtani sent the Saudis into a Sunday final date with Iraq in Jakarta

"One thing that I have heard throughout this tournament is that we have been lucky," Helio Dos Anjos was quoted as saying by the AFC official site.

"Luck might happen in one game but not in every game and tonight we have answered the people that have said we have been lucky."

"Tonight we saw a very tough game and one of the best in the tournament so far," added dos Anjos. "I am very happy with the victory because it was over one of the best teams in the continent, especially when they have possession of the ball."

Dos Anjos has been in charge for four months and is looking forward to the west Asian final.

"Today was a victory for Arabian football, especially for Iraq because everyone knows what is happening there. These victories will bring happiness to the people of Iraq and of Saudi Arabia.

"It is nice also that while the two finalists are from the Arab school they are both being coached by Brazilians."

AFC Schedule

FINAL :

SUNDAY 29/07/2007 : ARAB VS IRAQ at Gelora Bung Karno, Jakarta


PLACE 3rd & 4th:

SATURDAY 28/07/2007 : SOUTH KOREA VS JAPAN at Sriwijaya, Palembang

Saudis Down Japan To Reach Final

In the best game of the tournament so far, Saudi Arabia defeated defending champions Japan 3-2 in Hanoi on Wednesday to book a final date with Iraq in Jakarta on Sunday.

Three times the Saudis took the lead, with Malek Maaz grabbing two, twice Japan equalized but a third leveler proved to be just out of their reach.

The result means that the final will be an all West Asian affair after Iraq defeated South Korea on penalties earlier in the evening.

Japan dominated the early exchanges and had the Saudis chasing blue shadows without troubling the goalkeeper too much. One of the few times the west Asians crossed the halfway line, Yasser Al-Qahtani saw his shot from outside the box deflected over the bar by Yuki Nakazawa with goalkeeper Yoshikatsu Kawaguchi stranded.

Al-Qahtani showed why he has been one of the tournament’s stars with the opening goal after 35 minutes. A free-kick was headed down in the area and ‘The Sniper’ reacted first to half-volley the ball into the net from near the penalty spot.

Just like their quarter-final fixture against Australia, Japan hit back immediately. A minute later Nakazawa headed home a Yasuhito Endo corner to level proceedings.

Two minutes after the restart, the Saudis were back in front. Ahmed Al Bahri crossed neatly from the right for the incoming Malek Maaz, one of the smallest players on the pitch, to head powerfully into the net.

Again, Japan hit back – this time from their other central defender Yuki Abe and this time the champions needed five minutes. An Endo corner was headed back into the danger zone by Shunsuke Nakamura and Abe showed fine technique to volley home from inside a crowded penalty area.

Three minutes later Saudi Arabia were back in front in style. Malek Maaz burst into the left side of the box, twisted past two defenders and blasted the ball home.

With nine minutes remaining, Japan were a whisker away from a third equalizer. Substitute Naotake Hanyu let fly from 30 yards but his strike cannoned off the crossbar and the Saudis were soon celebrating.

Iraq Reach Final With Shootout Win Over Korea

Iraq reached their first ever Asian Cup final with a 4-3 penalty shootout victory over South Korea in Kuala Lumpur on Wednesday evening after two hours of football ended goalless.

Goalkeeper Noor Sabri was the hero, saving from Yeom Ki-hoon. Kim Jung-woo, who scored the winning spot kick in Korea’s quarter-final victory over Iran three days previously, then hit the post.

It was a tough way for Korea to exit the tournament as the Taeguk Warriors dominated the game for long periods and attacked in numbers but couldn’t find the breakthrough.

Iraq will face either Japan or Saudi Arabia in the final in Jakarta on Sunday.

Iraq's in-form striker Younis Mahmoud had the first real chance of the game after 15 minutes but the Desert Fox’s snapshot from inside the area flew into the side-netting.

In a slow first half, Korea enjoyed more of the possession in wet conditions in the Malaysian capital but it was Mahmoud who went the closest five minutes before the break. The striker collected the ball on the left corner of the penalty area, turned his defender, and while his diagonal low shot beat goalkeeper Lee Woon-jae, the ball rolled the wrong side of the left post.

The 2002 World Cup semi-finalists stepped up a gear in the second half and Cho Jae-jin went close with a header on the hour.

Korea continued to pile on the pressure but Iraq almost snatched the lead with 20 minutes remaining as Mahdi Karim shot just wide inside the area.

Immediately after, Lee Chun-soo pounced on a poor defensive header inside the area. The attacker had more time than he realized and hooked the dropping ball just wide of the post.

Despite their superiority, Korea couldn’t find the breakthrough and were forced into a second extra time period in four days.

Korea continued to have the upper hand in extra time but Iraq came so close to taking the lead just before the end of the first period. A cross from the right had Lee Woon-jae in problems. The veteran goalkeeper was prostrate when Hawar’s shot from the left edge of the six yard-box hit the inside of the right post and was smartly cleared off the line by Kim Jin-gyu.

That was as close as either team came to a goal before the Kuwaiti referee signaled the end of 120 minutes and the start of penalties.

Penalty Shootout (Korea first)

1: Lee Chun-soo scored. Hawar Mulla Mohammed scored

2: Lee Dong-gook scored. Qusai Munir scored

3; Cho Jae-jin scored. Haidar Abdul Amer scored

4: Yeom Ki-hoon saved. Ahmed Menajed scored

5: Kim Jung-woo missed