Michael

In the latest matches, Saudi Arabia and Thailand are drawing 0-0 at half-time, with both sides playing mostly their reserves, as they've both qualified already. Although Saudi Arabia missed a penalty early on, as Radif missed his penalty in the 12th minute. Saudi Arabia 0-0 Thailand at half-time While Oman took a 9th minute lead against Kyrgyzstan, as Muhsen Al-Ghassani ran into the area and opened the scoring with a powerful shot that found the back of the net. Kyrgyzstan 0-1 Oman at half-time

That's true about Saudi and them throwing their weight around, but they have been battling with Iran for control over the region for a while, that's no secret. The only difference being is that most of the Sunni Arab countries or sunni populations seem to welcome Saudi intervention. Although the shia groups probably don't welcome their intervention. There's no proof that Saudi Arabia have directly funded ISIS or Al-Qaeda, although it is true that they have funded Sunni separatist groups in Syria for example. They also fund sunnis in Lebanon and Iraq. But it would be a bit mad for them to back extremist groups like ISIS and Al Qaeda, when these groups are theologically opposed to the set up of their Kingdom. Moreover, both ISIS and Al Qaeda have attacked Saudi Arabia in the past. So on a state level, I highly doubt they have supported these groups, there's no proof of it anyway. As for Qatar, well yeah, political protests at the stadiums are also not allowed. However, I am not aware of arrests made directly because of these banners. When I was working in the region, I went to a few matches and those waving the old Syrian flags saw their flags taken away from them and confiscated. But the people involved weren't arrested. Arrests would only really happen if the protestors kick up too much of a fuss, well that's from my experience. I was not referring to Kish Island, I was referring to the Greater and Lesser Tunb Islands and the Abu Musa Island. I saw a documentary about this dispute several months ago now. The Islands were under the control of Arab sheikhs before Iran took them over. However, Iran claims that the islands are historically theirs. The islands are highly disputed between both countries.

The South Korea v Malaysia match finished in a 3-3 draw. After Woo-Yeong had given the South Koreans the lead in the first half, Faisal equalised for the Malaysians in the 2nd half. An Arif penalty goal gave the Malaysians a shock 2-1 lead in the 62nd minute, but then an own goal by Syihan gave South Korea the equaliser. Then a Son Heung-Min penalty gave South Korea the lead in the 4th minute of injury time, only for the Malaysians to incredibly equalise in the 15th minute of injury time through Morales. There were plenty of goals in a match that the Koreans dominated. However, the Koreans advance to the next round while the Malaysians are knocked out. South Korea 3-3 Malaysia The other match between Jordan and Bahrain finished with a 1-0 win for Bahrain, as the Jordanians couldn't find the equaliser they wanted in the 2nd half. Both teams qualify for the next round though, although it is Bahrain who top the group, with South Korea in 2nd place and Jordan in 3rd. Jordan 0-1 Bahrain

In the current ongoing games, South Korea lead Malaysia 1-0 at half-time, thanks to a goal by Woo-yeong. While Bahrain have taken a relatively surprising lead against the inform Jordanian national team. Bahrain lead 1-0 at half-time thanks to a goal by Yusuf Helal. South Korea 1-0 Malaysia at half-time Jordan 0-1 Bahrain at half-time

Iraq fielded their reserves against Vietnam, yet still won the match 3-2. Vietnam took the lead through Viet Anh in the 42d minute, but Iraq equalised through a header by defender Sulaka. Aymen Hussein then gave Iraq the lead in the 73rd minute, before Vietnam equalised in injury time through Quang Hai, but Iraq then retook the lead in injury time as an Aymen Hussein penalty goal sealed his 2nd goal of the game and Iraq's 3-2 win. Iraq 3-2 Vietnam In the other match of the group, Japan beat Indonesia 3-1. Ayase Ueda scored Japan's first 2 goals before an own goal by Hubner put Japan 3 gaols up. But right in injury time Walsh pulled a goal back for the Indonesians. But Japan triumphed easily in this match and qualify to the next round. Japan 3-1 Indonesia

Qatar is strict on political protests of any kind, I believe you need to get permission in order to protest and for the protest to be approved by the government. So it's not surprising that they arrested those Iranians protesting without permission. This rule is not aimed specifically at Iranian protestors, it applies to any kind of political protest. They were always going to apply their laws to any group that comes out with a political protest, that don't get approval for the protests to go ahead. Well Iran seized control of some Islands in the region that the UAE has claims to. This has been an ongoing dispute for decades. Moreover, I think that you are well aware of the rhetoric that came from the Iranian regime during the 1979 Iranian revolution and beyond. The new Islamic regime not only aimed to restructure Iran's political system and society, but they also had plans to do throughout the Middle East. Many of the heads of the Iranian regime called for the overthrow of the monarchies in the region, as well as the secular governments and they wanted them to be replaced by Islamic regimes. In fact, soon after the revolution and before the official Iran-Iraq war, the Iranian regime began sponsoring waves of terror attacks inside Iraq, with the aim of toppling Saddam Hussein and his Baathist regime. So such actions were a direct affront to neighbouring countries and the rhetoric was clearly threatening. So it's no wonder that all these neighbouring countries were wary of Iran. Even today, you are well aware of how this Iranian regime operate. They sponsor groups and they use proxies to fight to achieve this Iranian regime's goals. So it's not true to suggest that Iran is no threat to these countries. Look at the huge influence Iran has in Iraq today, it's quite unheard-of really. They also have influence in Syria, Yemen and Lebanon. Moreover, the Iranian regime helped fund opposition groups within Bahrain to topple the Bahraini regime during their Arab spring protests. So it's not surprising that many in the region are very cautious and on the alert when it comes to Iran. Proxy wars are just as bad as an invasion, in a way, they are a different kind of invasion. They are often aimed at toppling regimes and replacing them with puppet regimes that would be extremely loyal to the Iranian government. I don't see how the Arab states have been supporting Iranian extremism. I mean they might have been happy that Iran has supported Hamas over the years, because the Palestine issue seems to mean a lot to the muslim countries in the region. But other than that, I can't think of any other Iranian extremism that they would support. As you know they are predominantly sunni lead countries, so they would naturally oppose the Iranian backed religious shia opposition groups in the region. I also don't see why they wouldn't want the current Iranian regime to be replaced. The current regime has over the years been a serious threat to them. I am sure a new much more friendly Iranian regime would suit those in the region much more.

I totally agree with your first 4 paragraphs, this is exactly what I have been saying all along, yet I am still confronted in everyday life by many who have strong feelings about the Ukraine-Russia issue, but who can't see the picture. What I will say in reply to your last paragraph, is that although Russia has a much larger population and thus much more manpower, Ukraine still has a large population itself. 43 million people is a heck of a lot of people. Ukraine's military currently has 900,000 active personnel, which is a hell of a lot of people. Plus there are many more that Ukraine can call on as reserves. I think the advanced weaponry that the West has, plus fighter jets and more tanks can really assist them in turning the tide. I'd say that more fighter jets could potentially be a game changer in this war. Putin may have a lot of support in Russia, but the Ukrainians are more motivated to fight this war than most of their Russian counterparts. The Russians have mined the hell out of the areas they have control over in Ukraine and they are now well entrenched in defensive positions in those regions. It clearly won't be easy for Ukraine to win this war, but it is very possible if they are given the right support and handed the weapons as well as the fighter jets needed to win it.

Yes, that's what seems to be the case. He is another self-serving politician.

It's interesting what you say, because I do realise that religion plays a big role in that region, even if it is used for political reasons. Out of the Gulf Arab States, only Oman and Iraq are not ruled by Sunni muslim leaders, despite both countries having large sunni populations. Iraq has pretty much been lead by the Shia since the fall of Saddam and are in many ways controlled or influenced by Iran these days. While Oman has an Ibadhi muslim leadership and Oman has played a significant role as the acting peacemaker in the region, between the Gulf Arab states and Iran. So it's the Sunni lead Gulf Arab countries that you have an issue with. However, from how I see it, these Gulf Arab states have opposed Iran on occasions because of the threat that the Iranian regime causes them as sovereign nations. Not including Saudi Arabia, Iraq or Oman, as these countries have relatively large land masses, but countries like the UAE, Qatar, Bahrain and Kuwait could be taken over in a short period of time if Iran ever decided to invade them. Ultimately, they don't want the Iranian regime meddling in their internal affairs, by supporting certain groups within their countries. Furthermore, I do not see where they played a big role in the decades of oppression Iranians face on a daily basis. If you could explain that, it would be good. As for not supporting national teams because of the politics of the nation in question, I don't know where one would start with that. If I thought that way, I probably wouldn't support the English national team. While we are generally looked after in our country relatively well as a collective, our foreign policy has been terrible and our government has been responsible for the deaths of millions of people over the years. I personally prefer to separate sport from politics as much as possible. Otherwise we would have a long list of countries we wouldn't deem appropriate to support, that would be more than half countries in the world, trust me.

It's interesting how Boris Johnson, the person who has always backed supporting Ukraine in their war against Russia as much as possible, is now endorsing Trump to be the US President. Trump the man who will clearly cut support for Ukraine and look for a Ukrainian peace deal with Russia, if he becomes president. Boris obviously has his own priorities.

I just think the main role of a striker is to score goals first and foremost and this is what I see Taremi doing much better than Azmoun. Taremi is much more efficient with chances than Azmoun. Even at club level, Taremi usually scores the chances that come his way, while Azmoun seems to miss a lot. I think VAR was correct with the disallowed goals, but you're entitled to your opinion. Fair enough if you don't like the UAE as a country, again that's your opinion, but you can't compare the UAE to a country like Russia, even if they do have some flaws. I also think you can't single Taremi out, because by playing for the national team, every Iranian player is essentially supporting the Iranian regime by playing for Iran.

Ukraine's future depends on how much the West are willing to help them militarily. So far, the West has not helped them enough. With enough of the right weaponry, do you not think that Ukraine can turn this war in their favour? There are many men willing to fight to defend Ukraine and Europe, they just need more weapons, fighter jets and tanks. Kicking Russia out of Ukraine and them joining NATO is the only way Ukraine will be left alone. What are the alternatives to this? Ukraine keeps fighting with not enough weaponry, fighter jets and tanks and continues to lose more lives without making much headway on the battle fields. Or Ukraine tries to sign a peace-deal with Russia for a ceasefire, which will inevitably involve Ukraine accepting the Russian presence in Ukraine. This option will definitely mean that Ukraine never gets left alone. Ultimately, any potential peace deal will also give Russia time to regroup and attempt further attacks at gaining more Ukrainian territory in the future, as Russia has proven time and again that they cannot be trusted. It's a real sad situation that we have in Ukraine.

They have no regard for the innocent, they are destroying Ukrainian cities with their missile strikes.

Australia and Uzbekistan drew 1-1 in a closely fought match. Australia took the lead through a penalty goal by Martin Boyle, while Uzbekistan managed to equalise from a header by Turgunboev. Australia knew a draw was enough to see them top the group and that's how the match ended. It's a shame that Uzbekistan's star player Eldor Shomurodov didn't make the Asian Cup cut due to injury, he would have added a lot to the Uzbekistan attack. Australia 1-1 Uzbekistan In the other match in this group, India lost their 3rd match in a row after they lost narrowly to Syria by a 1-0 score-line. Omar Khribin scored the only goal of the match and the win was enough for Syria to clinch 3rd place in the group and qualify out of the group. Syria 1-0 India

Why is their team dickheads? That's a bit of a silly thing to say. You can't just say it should have been 4-1 because you feel like it, VAR disallowed goals and VAR was correct. The goals shouldn't have counted and VAR was accurate. That's exactly why we have VAR. It's like saying the UAE should have won because they actually missed a penalty that they should have scored from and they also created other chances to score, they had more shots on target than Iran. At the end of the day, 2-1 was the final result and the fair result. Iran are heavily reliant on Taremi for good reason, he is by far their best striker and their best player. Azmoun unfortunately seems to miss most chances that come his way, unlike Taremi.

Syria are a dogged team, but nothing special even at this level. They barely beat India 1-0, they will just be happy that they qualified for the next round having finished 3rd in their group.

In today's matches Iran beat the UAE 2-1 with Mehdi Taremi scoring both Iran's goals and Yahya Al-Ghassani scoring the UAE's goal. Iran 2-1 UAE In the other match Palestine beat Hong Kong easily 3-0 but finish 3rd in the group due to goal difference. Palestine 3-0 Hong Kong

Qatar managed to beat China 1-0 in their match today, this is despite Qatar fielding their reserve side. Qatar had already qualified having won both their first two matches in the group. However, even their reserves managed to defeat a China side that needed to win today to ensure qualification. Qatar's goal was scored by their striker Hassan Al-Haydos. Qatar finish top of the group with a 100% record, as they won all 3 group games and they advance to the next round. Qatar 1-0 China Tajikistan defeated Lebanon 2-1 to seal their qualification to the next round. Lebanon took the lead early in the 2nd half thanks to a goal by Bassel Jradi. But Lebanon then had Al-Zein sent off. Tajikistan who had 2 goals disallowed after VAR was reviewed, managed to equalise through Umarbayev in the 80th minute. Then in injury time, Khamrokulov scored the decisive winner. The win see's Tajikistan finish 2nd in the group behind Qatar and qualify for the next round. Tajikistan 2-1 Lebanon

In the most recent matches played Oman drew with Thailand 0-0. Despite dominating the match with 70% possession and creating many chances, the Oman national team didn't manage to put the ball into the back of the net. The draw means Thailand move into 2nd place in the group after they defeated Kyrgyzstan 2-0 in their opening match. Oman will now need to beat Kyrgyzstan in their final match and preferably score a few goals as well in the process. Oman 0-0 Thailand In the other match of the day, Saudi Arabia beat Kyrgyzstan 2-0. Saudi Arabia took the lead in the 35th minute after a long range thunderbolt of a shot by Abdulellah Al-Malki crashed against the inside of the Kyrgyzstan post, the rebound fell to Saud Abdulhamid who crossed the ball for Mohamed Kanno to emphatically volley the ball into the net in style. 22 year old midfielder Faisal Al-Ghamdi scored Saudi Arabia's 2nd goal, when his powerful shot from outside the area found the back of the net, as his shot couldn't be stopped by the Kyrgyz keeper Tokotayev, despite him getting his fists to the ball. This win was Saudi Arabia's 2nd win in a row, meaning they now go top of the group with 6 points and have sealed their place in the Round of 16, with a group game in hand to play. One would imagine that they will rest quite a lot of their key players for their final group game against Thailand, seeing as Saudi Arabia have already qualified from the group. Saudi Arabia 2-0 Kyrgyzstan

In the last match of the day, Bahrain defeated Malaysia 1-0 thanks to a goal by Ali Madan. Bahrain 1-0 Malaysia

There is an incredible 11 minutes of injury time in the South Korea v Jordan match and South Korea equalise in the 1st minute of injury time through an own goal. The South Koreans will be relieved to get the equaliser, while the Jordanians will be gutted that they couldn't hold on to their lead. There is still an extra 10 minutes of injury time to be played for either of these sides to find the winner. South Korea 2-2 Jordan

They've played well, but I wouldn't necessarily say that they have been the best team so far. With all due respect, they have beaten Lebanon and Tajikistan in their first 2 matches, who are both decent sides, but as good as the better teams in Asia. I think it's pretty open as to will win it. Japan, South Korea, Australia, Saudi Arabia, Iran, Iraq, Oman, Qatar, Uzbekistan and Jordan all have the potential to win it. It all depends on how they turn up on the matchday. But these sides are all closely matched and have played some good football in this competition.

Yes, I know that, it's quite obvious. Back in 2019 he was playing in the weak Cypriot league, now he is actually shinning in the French League, one of the top 5 best leagues in Europe. He is a real talent and it will be interesting to see how far this Jordanian team can go, as they've played very well so far in this competition.

Jordan have a surprise lead over South Korea at half-time. South Korea took an early lead through a Son penalty, but then an own goal and a goal by Al-Naimat has given Jordan a 2-1 lead at the break. Jordan were very impressive in their first match against Malaysia where they trounced then 4-0 and now they are continuing their good form by leading against the Koreans. Jordan 2-1 South Korea

"it"???? lol Yeah, he looks a very talented player and he is clearly the key player for his national team.