WDozens, maybe hundreds, millions of people – OK, many of them came from China and were hoping for a miracle – took a breather about what was going on between Tajikistan and Lebanon. We are watching in secret, witnessing an historic, heart-breaking, and truly dramatic event. That something is going well. You never know what will happen in this wild, exciting and dramatic Asia Cup. I’m already deeply moved – The Syrian interpreter broke down. (after coach Hector Cuper qualified for the second round for the first time in history) – and the group stage will go down as the best this tournament has produced in a long time. Only eight of the 24 teams returned home, but everyone did their part.
Some people have done so historically by doing bad things. China didn't even score a goal, but their sham plan to push through with three draws seemed to be working. After scoring two points from the first two, they were rocked by an absolute belter from Qatar's Hassan Al Haydos. Team Dragon went home with a mixture of contempt and indifference. I was hoping that Tajikistan and Lebanon would stay in the game, but the match resulted in three great goals, with Central Asia scoring in stoppage time to advance to the second round for the first time and seal a win for a desperate and devastated Lebanon. I stole it. .
China's woes have been joined by other countries in East Asia. If in recent years political and financial power has flowed westward across the continent, football's greatest talents were thought to live in the land of the rising sun and the stillness of the morning. That's still the case, but Japan and South Korea, who were clear favorites before it all started, are in trouble.
In fact, it looked like the match between the two players, scheduled for the final, would take place in the second round as well. Japan lost to Iraq, halting their winning streak at 11 as defensive issues and goaltending mistakes that were evident in the opening game, a 4-2 win against Vietnam, were punished by a talented and determined Iraq team. Zion Suzuki, a mixed-race Japanese goaltender, has reported racist abuse from fans in his home country. The Samurai Blue finished second in Group D, patiently waiting for South Korea to advance through the group and book the biggest match in Asian football.
In the end, South Korea was unable to do so and almost finished third in Group E, second behind Bahrain. A 2-2 draw with Jordan ended thanks to a last-gasp own goal, but never mind, the last game was the first in a match at this stage since 1980, with no goals scored in the first two games. It was a match against Malaysia, a lower-ranked team that we had not won against. However, after falling behind, the Southeast Asian team scored two points in quick succession and took a 2-1 lead into the second half. South Korean coach Jurgen Klinsmann hasn't been very impressed or seemed to have much interest since arriving in Seoul about a year ago, but losing to a team ranked 130th, 107th below him, is It must have been a huge humiliation for the director. players. Lee Kang-in intervened with another superb free-kick and Son Heung-min converted a penalty, but South Korean coach Kim Pang-gun's Malaysia equalized in the 105th minute, resulting in a famous 3-3 draw. .
This meant Klinsmann would play against Roberto Mancini and Saudi Arabia on Tuesday. The Italian first claimed that three regular players wanted to choose their matches and left him out of the squad. In the opening game against Oman, the knife was sharpened after 78 minutes, but then the equalizer and the winning goal in the 96th minute came, and things have calmed down since then. Saudi Arabia and South Korea are the first meeting between traditional continental powerhouses in this tournament, with the former clearly a two-week old thanks to its formation and the large and raucous fans in the Saudi delegation. He would have been the favorite to win, but it was anyone's game.
Former South Korea coach Shin Tae-yong guided Indonesia to the second round for the first time thanks to a hard-fought victory over regional rivals Vietnam, who returned home early at the bottom of Group D after disappointing under coach Philippe Troussier. . This was Mr. Singh's reward for his faith in young people as well as naturalized players, a policy that had been criticized by some in the country. Among the Southeast Asian teams participating in the tournament, Thailand also finished second in Group F behind Saudi Arabia.
In Central Asia, Tajikistan, led by energetic German coach Petar Seghurt, celebrated with a win. The second round draw against an unimpressive United Arab Emirates team is a winnable match. Uzbekistan probably should have won all three matches, but ended up drawing with Australia. That said, given the issues with South Korea and Japan, Australia didn't get much attention, which is not a bad thing. Uzbekistan could have some injuries, but you never know given everything is so open. Kyrgyzstan had a good performance in their debut match in 2019, but this time they slumped to only three losses. India was also disappointed, losing three games without scoring.
After newsletter promotion
So far, the Western nations have had the best performance with Qatar, Iran and Iraq winning all three group games. Hosts Qatar did not concede and looked to be doing just fine as Akram Afif returned to the level of 2019, when he helped the Maroons to an impressive title win. The demons of 2022 are destroyed as each game passes. Iranian fans weren't too fond of coach Amir Ghalenoei even before he called for his team to be kinder, but striker Mehdi Taremi could be the man to lead the team to the end. Iraq was great, teaching Japan a real lesson and bringing back memories of the 2007 victory.
Bahrain and Jordan, who topped the group ahead of South Korea, also seem to be doing well. Palestine made headlines just by being there and delighted everyone by winning their first game and progressing to the next stage. Oman fell short by just two points from a disappointing team, while Lebanon fought hard and could have easily broken through, but the quality wasn't good enough.
They still contributed to a thrilling group stage and if they continue this way, it could be the best Asian Cup ever.
