Asian Football

[Michael]

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

[Michael]

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

Bahrain 1-0 Malaysia

[Michael]

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

[Michael]

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

[Dr. Gonzo]

12 minutes ago, Michael said:

Qatar managed to beat China 1-0 in their match today, this is despite Qatar fielding their reserve side.

That's not too surprising, tbh.

[Dr. Gonzo]

So I'd been wanting Iran to get knocked out ASAP because at the moment Team Melli is just used as propaganda for the shitty government. But seeing that we're playing the UAE, I am pleased to see we beat those dickheads.

3 controversially ruled out goals, so it probably should and could have been 4-1.

Iran will go out the second they face someone decent in attack though. This yes-man manager they've put in has no idea what he's doing with this squad defensively.

[Goku de la Boca]

33 minutes ago, Dr. Gonzo said:

So I'd been wanting Iran to get knocked out ASAP because at the moment Team Melli is just used as propaganda for the shitty government. But seeing that we're playing the UAE, I am pleased to see we beat those dickheads.

3 controversially ruled out goals, so it probably should and could have been 4-1.

Iran will go out the second they face someone decent in attack though. This yes-man manager they've put in has no idea what he's doing with this squad defensively.

Syria who have a much better frontline than defence. Sounds like a fun clash that.

[Michael]

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

[Goku de la Boca]

Syria's starting 9 plays for Alianza Lima. He's actually a very good player and one of the best 9's in Peru but I don't think it's the sort of decent quality Gonzo was referring to in attack.

[Michael]

1 minute ago, Goku de la Boca said:

Syria's starting 9 plays for Alianza Lima. He's actually a very good player and one of the best 9's in Peru but I don't think it's the sort of decent quality Gonzo was referring to in attack.

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.

[Dr. Gonzo]

11 minutes ago, Goku de la Boca said:

Syria's starting 9 plays for Alianza Lima. He's actually a very good player and one of the best 9's in Peru but I don't think it's the sort of decent quality Gonzo was referring to in attack.

Yeah, no I was thinking of one of the teams that's a lot stronger than Syria. On paper Iran's team is still one of the better Asian sides, it's just the manager is out of his depth imo - no real tactics other than just relying on Taremi and Azmoun. Which tbf can get them pretty far at this level because this level isn't that great.

[Goku de la Boca]

1 minute ago, Dr. Gonzo said:

Yeah, no I was thinking of one of the teams that's a lot stronger than Syria. On paper Iran's team is still one of the better Asian sides, it's just the manager is out of his depth imo - no real tactics other than just relying on Taremi and Azmoun. Which tbf can get them pretty far at this level because this level isn't that great.

Syria are usually a pretty competitive side, they nearly made the WCQ playoffs a few years ago against Australia where the latter had to scrape it, but they still aren't great, I wouldn't call them minnows though.

[Dr. Gonzo]

lol Ghoddos can barely speak Farsi

when he says "individual awards" Taremi says "individual? what? Speak Farsi man"  - my takeaway from this is that Taremi knows more English than I would have thought he does though

[Michael]

11 hours ago, Dr. Gonzo said:

So I'd been wanting Iran to get knocked out ASAP because at the moment Team Melli is just used as propaganda for the shitty government. But seeing that we're playing the UAE, I am pleased to see we beat those dickheads.

3 controversially ruled out goals, so it probably should and could have been 4-1.

Iran will go out the second they face someone decent in attack though. This yes-man manager they've put in has no idea what he's doing with this squad defensively.

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.

[Michael]

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

 

[Dr. Gonzo]

7 hours ago, Michael said:

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.

Hasn’t Azmoun assisted all of Taremi’s goals - but yes Taremi’s the best Iranian player. Also VAR wasn’t correct for those disallowed goals. Taremi’s a dickhead too though tbh because he’s very pro Iran’s terrible government.

And I just don’t like the UAE as a country - the same way you’d probably want Ukraine to beat Russia.

[Michael]

5 minutes ago, Dr. Gonzo said:

Hasn’t Azmoun assisted all of Taremi’s goals - but yes Taremi’s the best Iranian player. Also VAR wasn’t correct for those disallowed goals. Taremi’s a dickhead too though tbh because he’s very pro Iran’s terrible government.

And I just don’t like the UAE as a country - the same way you’d probably want Ukraine to beat Russia.

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.

[Dr. Gonzo]

2 hours ago, Michael said:

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.

I agree with the last paragraph and that’s why I haven’t been supporting Iran when they play even though I’m half Iranian. But when it’s Iran up against those gulf states it’s very hard for me to not want Iran to win because of how I feel about those countries. Except Oman, no strong feelings towards them. And Iraq because I feel a lot of sympathy towards them.

I disagree that you can’t compare them to Russia tbh. While these countries haven’t exactly been friendly with Iran in the last decade, they’ve all played a big role in the decades of oppression Iranians face on a day to day basis. So for as long as they’ve got their absolute monarchs sitting pretty, I’ll always dislike the hell out of them.

Nothing against the ordinary people who live in these countries - but like you say, by playing for a national team you’re basically part of their nationalist propaganda.

[Michael]

24 minutes ago, Dr. Gonzo said:

I agree with the last paragraph and that’s why I haven’t been supporting Iran when they play even though I’m half Iranian. But when it’s Iran up against those gulf states it’s very hard for me to not want Iran to win because of how I feel about those countries. Except Oman, no strong feelings towards them. And Iraq because I feel a lot of sympathy towards them.

I disagree that you can’t compare them to Russia tbh. While these countries haven’t exactly been friendly with Iran in the last decade, they’ve all played a big role in the decades of oppression Iranians face on a day to day basis. So for as long as they’ve got their absolute monarchs sitting pretty, I’ll always dislike the hell out of them.

Nothing against the ordinary people who live in these countries - but like you say, by playing for a national team you’re basically part of their nationalist propaganda.

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.

 

[Dr. Gonzo]

1 minute ago, Michael said:

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.

Qatar has probably been Iran's most reliable "partner" Arab nation (other than Iraq after the ISIS cleanup shit, but that's just them taking radicals and further radicalising into controlled proxy groups like Hezbollah in Lebanon and the Houthis in Yemen) - they were actively targeting anti-regime Iranian fans during the world cup and arresting them before turning them over to Iran. That's pretty complicit in oppression of Iranians. The UAE, Qatar, Bahrain, and Kuwait have no reason to fear Iran invading them - Iran's not done any invading since the Persian empire, the last wars they've been involved in have been: getting invaded by Iraq (with the support of the west, the east, and other Arab states - all  complicit in Iraq's war crimes) and being invited in by Assad to fight ISIS (and keep Assad's shitty government in power). The other conflicts Iran's involved with have all been proxy conflicts, mostly with Israel but sometimes with the Saudis - so again, no real threat of invasion. Just the threat of spreading their horrible ideology.

The other Arab states have played more indirect roles in supporting Iranian extremism when convenient, but always being against Iran approaching the west or creating normal diplomatic relations with the US over the decades. And that's because they've had the most to gain with Iran being cut off from normal economic activity with the west, and the most to lose if Iran does have normal relations - or worse for them, another revolution. They have been consistently opposed to any regime change in Iran - other than floated plans to break Iran up into smaller ethnostates (because Iran's got a ton of different ethnic groups in it).

I have family and friends suffering under this autocratic rule, so I will always resent the other autocratic nations in the region that have played their part to slow down the necessary change for people in Iran to have better lives. I think part of it is because they economically benefit from Iran not being a normal participant in the global economy and another part of it is anti-authoritarian movements scare autocratic monarchs.

[Michael]

16 hours ago, Dr. Gonzo said:

Qatar has probably been Iran's most reliable "partner" Arab nation (other than Iraq after the ISIS cleanup shit, but that's just them taking radicals and further radicalising into controlled proxy groups like Hezbollah in Lebanon and the Houthis in Yemen) - they were actively targeting anti-regime Iranian fans during the world cup and arresting them before turning them over to Iran. That's pretty complicit in oppression of Iranians. The UAE, Qatar, Bahrain, and Kuwait have no reason to fear Iran invading them - Iran's not done any invading since the Persian empire, the last wars they've been involved in have been: getting invaded by Iraq (with the support of the west, the east, and other Arab states - all  complicit in Iraq's war crimes) and being invited in by Assad to fight ISIS (and keep Assad's shitty government in power). The other conflicts Iran's involved with have all been proxy conflicts, mostly with Israel but sometimes with the Saudis - so again, no real threat of invasion. Just the threat of spreading their horrible ideology.

The other Arab states have played more indirect roles in supporting Iranian extremism when convenient, but always being against Iran approaching the west or creating normal diplomatic relations with the US over the decades. And that's because they've had the most to gain with Iran being cut off from normal economic activity with the west, and the most to lose if Iran does have normal relations - or worse for them, another revolution. They have been consistently opposed to any regime change in Iran - other than floated plans to break Iran up into smaller ethnostates (because Iran's got a ton of different ethnic groups in it).

I have family and friends suffering under this autocratic rule, so I will always resent the other autocratic nations in the region that have played their part to slow down the necessary change for people in Iran to have better lives. I think part of it is because they economically benefit from Iran not being a normal participant in the global economy and another part of it is anti-authoritarian movements scare autocratic monarchs.

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.

 

[Michael]

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

Edited January 25 by Michael

[Michael]

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

 

[Michael]

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

[Dr. Gonzo]

2 hours ago, Michael said:

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.

 

Mate it’s not unheard of for countries in a region to have influence in that region. The Saudi government has loads of influence in the Middle East and often pretends to speak for all Arab countries & simultaneously funds Arab proxies (ISIS, Al Qaeda, etc).

And what Qatar did wasn’t arresting protestors in the streets, they were arresting fans at the stadiums of Iran matches for things like: displaying Iran’s old flag or banners that say Women, Life, Freedom.

And the Kish islands are Iranian & the UAE was trying to take them from Iran…