Paul Marcuccitti is a passionate
soccer fan from Australia who will share his views about the World Cup in this column.
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Asian Cup - The group stage
The problem with the Internet is that it can store an unlimited amount of
pages. If you don't agree with me, it's because you're not an occasional
columnist who might go to bed at night knowing that, while you're
sleeping, people around the world might be reading one of your articles
and laughing their heads off because those predictions you made turned out
to be way off the mark.
It was ok when pundits were confined to newspapers and magazines because
you never kept them. The special edition magazine that I bought before the
1990 World Cup finals had a whole heap of predictions in it but God only
knows where it is now - it was probably pulped many years ago.
But you can go through this website and see that I picked France to win
the 2002 World Cup and Spain to win last year. (To make matters worse, I
can't even prove that I picked West Germany in 1990 and Brazil in 1994.)
I didn't quite make predictions in my Asian Cup preview but it must be
obvious that I gave Vietnam little or no chance of reaching the
quarter-finals. Brilliant!
Still, there's at least one line in that column I'm glad I wrote - I said
that I truly expected this to be a cracking tournament. And I was
certainly right about that. The underdog host nations (with the exception
of Malaysia) have been extremely competitive; favourites have been
rattled; and the football has been skilful and attractive. What more can
you ask for?
Group A
The Thais scored less than six minutes after the tournament kicked off
after being awarded a questionable penalty but the rest of the first half
was largely controlled by Iraq which equalised in the 32nd minute through
Younis Mahmoud. The Thais regained some momentum in the second half and
Teerathep Winothai could have won the game for them with a late strike but
1-1 would be the final score.
It was Group A's next match that nearly provided a shock as Oman went
within minutes of defeating an Australian side that looked lethargic and
ragged in defence. Oman took the lead after half an hour and had some
excellent chances to extend its lead in the second half. Only some heroics
from Aussie 'keeper Mark Schwarzer kept the score at 1-0. In injury time,
Tim Cahill, having come from the bench, scored a trademark goal to give
the Socceroos a point that they barely deserved.
If Australia's first game was poor, its second was disastrous. Though it
needed a misjudgement by Schwarzer - hero of the first game - to give Iraq
a 1-0 lead at half time, the Socceroos simply weren't firing. Early in the
second half, Mark Viduka equalised after a well worked move and for a few
minutes it looked like Australia had found its A game. But in the 60th
minute, some woeful defending allowed Iraq to regain the lead through
Hawar Mulla Mohammed. More chaos at the back allowed the Iraqis to make it
3-1 but don't think that they simply won because the Aussies played badly.
Iraq is a talented team and while I questioned its preparation for this
tournament, I never doubted its quality. Iraqi midfielder Nashat Akram is
one of this tournament's best players.
After such a fine performance against Australia, Oman simply regressed
against Thailand. The Thais spent most of the game in attack and finally
went ahead in the 70th minute through substitute Pipat Thonkanya. To the
delight of the home crowd, he would score a second and ensure that the
Thais would go into the last round of games in a strong position.
Group A concluded with Thailand v Australia and Oman v Iraq. Thailand and
Iraq both had four points and a +2 goal difference while Australia and
Oman each had one point and -2. With match result being the first
tiebreaker, a single goal win could have been enough for Australia or
Oman. But if both won - resulting in all the teams being tied on four
points - goal difference would be in play.
It never got to that because Oman didn't score a goal against Iraq.
Despite controlling most of the play in a drab game, the Omanis couldn't
find the back of the net and the 0-0 result was enough to give Iraq top
place in the group.
Cruelly, Thailand would be bundled out after losing 4-0 to the Socceroos.
Naturally I'm delighted that Australia recovered and reached the
quarter-finals but the final score was harsh on Group A's host nation.
After going into the half time break a goal down, Thailand attacked
bravely in the second half and a revamped Australian defence needed to be
at its best to protect its goal. In the 80th minute, Tim Cahill, again on
as a substitute, crossed for Mark Viduka and the Socceroos' captain used
all his skill and strength to hold off the Thai defence and score. Three
minutes later, Cahill crossed again and Viduka scored again - this time
with a header. Harry Kewell made it 4-0 and Australia was back in
business.
Group B
Japan's manager Ivica Osim has been a source of fascination for
journalists throughout this tournament who have written plenty of stories
about his grumpiness and the peculiar answers he gives at media
conferences. If you do a search on some of the things he's said, you'll
get a good laugh. (My favourite was him yelling "Is there a doctor in the
house? That's not my job!" when he was asked about the fitness of his
players.)
What a lot of people seem to have missed is that his team plays with a
great deal of joy on the pitch. It's playing well too - perhaps well
enough to retain its Asian title.
Japan didn't make the perfect start when it drew its opening match against
Qatar. Despite dominating most of the game, Japan did not take the lead
until an hour had been played when a clever finish by Naohiro Takahara
broke the deadlock. But the Group B favourite needlessly conceded a late
free kick and Uruguayan-born striker Sebastian Quintana equalised.
Although Quintana's shot was aided by a deflection, Japan should have been
able to kill off the game.
Vietnam had no chance against the United Arab Emirates - a team with good
recent form and Bruno Metsu's inspiring hairdo on the sideline. (Well
that's what I thought anyway.) And the first half stuck to the script
with UAE controlling most of the play. Striker Faisal Khalil should have
converted at least one chance in the first 45 minutes but he didn't and
the half time score was 0-0. After half time, Vietnam took the initiative,
put some attractive passing moves together, and was rewarded with goals to
Huynh Quang Thanh and Le Cong Vinh.
Four days later, the Vietnamese players proved that the result against UAE
was no fluke. Again, the Vietnamese were under pressure in the first half
hour. Again, their opponents failed to score. But this time the home side
went ahead in the first half when a howler by Qatari goalkeeper Mohamed
Saqr allowed Phan Thanh Binh to score with a long-range shot. Though Thanh
Binh had another chance a few minutes later, Qatar would be the more
threatening team for the rest of the match. Once again, Quintana scored a
late equaliser and the final score was 1-1.
The following day's match between UAE and Japan suddenly became a crunch
game between two teams that many fancied to qualify for the
quarter-finals. It was the gulf nation that got crunched as an
effervescent Japanese side scored three first half goals. Takahara helped
himself to another two and a Shunsuke Nakamura penalty effectively ended
UAE's tournament. Substitutes Ahmed Al Mahri and Saeed Alkas combined to
pull a goal back and the final score was 3-1.
With two points from two matches, Qatar could reach the quarter-finals
with a win over UAE. At half time, the Qataris were on track. Although UAE
had more of the ball in the first 45 minutes, the only goal came when
Quintana scored from the penalty spot. Nevertheless, the much-changed UAE
side pressed on in the second half and a Saeed Alkas header levelled the
scores on the hour. A draw was never going to be enough for Qatar but UAE
scored an injury time winner and relegated its neighbour to the bottom of
the group.
Japan produced a wonderful display of football and routed Vietnam 4-1 but
both teams qualified for the quarter-finals courtesy of UAE's win. A Keita
Suzuki own goal gave the host nation a shock early lead but Seiichiro Maki
equalised a few minutes later. Yashuhito Endo then gave the Japanese a 2-1
lead with a direct free kick and they made sure of the win - and group
leadership - after a beautiful move resulted in a superb strike from
Shunsuke Nakamura. Maki scored again to make it 4-1 and Japan showed that
it's the form team of the tournament. Australia will be the underdog when
the two nations meet in the quarter-finals. Vietnam - the only host nation
to reach the last eight - now travels to Thailand to face Iraq.
Group C
The host nations have impressed in this Asian Cup. Except for Malaysia -
the only team in the tournament to fail to score a point. In the group's
opening game, Wang Dong and Han Peng helped themselves to two goals each
as China smashed the Malaysians 5-1. The hosts had a few bright moments -
and their late goal by substitute Indra Putra Mahayuddin was a beauty -
but it was evident that they wouldn't be challenging for a place in the
quarter-finals.
Uzbekistan went into its opening match against Iran without suspended
striker Maksim Shatskikh. But it was an Iranian that gave the Uzbeks the
lead after quarter of an hour. In an unusual error of judgment, Rahman
Rezaei, who's good enough to play in an Italian club's defence, headed a
long ball over his 'keeper and into the back of the net and the Iranians
looked rattled before regaining some composure later in the half. Ali
Karimi and Vahid Hashemian had already shown their creativity for Iran in
the first half and the introduction of Javad Kazemian gave the Group C
favourite more ammunition after the break. Seyed Jalal Hosseini equalised
in the 55th minute when he rose to head a Mehdi Mahdavikia corner into the
back of the net and the Iranians' were further rewarded for their pressure
when Kazemian finished a fabulous move to make the final score 2-1.
Shatskikh was back for Uzbekistan's next match and he quickly discovered
that Malaysian hospitality extended to its defenders allowing opposing
teams to help themselves to goals. The Dynamo Kiev striker opened the
scoring by heading home a free kick in the 10th minute and Timur Kapadze
made it 2-0 after a fine run into the box. The home side was good enough
to create some chances but it would concede a third goal before half time
when Ulugbek Bakaev converted a penalty. The Uzbeks didn't add a fourth
until the 85th minute when substitute Aziz Ibragimov scored with an
intelligent volley. Shatskikh then got his second and Malaysia had
conceded five goals again.
Iran managed to concede first again against China - and this time Team
Melli went two goals down. China's first goal was from a brilliant direct
free kick from Shao Jiayi and his team continued to create chances in the
first half hour. The Chinese then went 2-0 up thanks to a great finish by
Mao Jianqing. Now, nearly ten years ago, I attended an international match
that saw an Iranian team successfully come back from two goals down. I'd
rather not talk about that particular game too much but it was in the back
of my mind so I wasn't about to write the Iranians off. They sprang to
life after going two behind and, after finally forcing some saves by
Chinese custodian Li Leilei, the Iranians reduced the deficit before half
time with a great free kick of their own. Mehdi Mahdavikia just touched
the ball for Ferydoon Zandi who smashed it home. In the second half, Iran
simply occupied the Chinese half and created several chances. The
equalising goal came with less than 20 minutes to go - a header by Javad
Nekounam. China had the best chance for a winner but the final score would
be 2-2.
Uzbekistan simply had to beat China to advance to the quarter-finals; the
Chinese just needed a draw. For 70 minutes, it looked like China would
succeed. The Uzbeks had more of the play in the first half but both sides
had chances to break the deadlock. Maksim Shatskikh was looking especially
dangerous but it could have been China taking the lead when Wang Dong hit
the crossbar. Only a few minutes later, Shatskikh did score. His header
from a free kick was blocked by 'keeper Yang Jun (Li Leilei was injured)
but the rebound came back his way. Not long after that, Victor Karpenko
fired in another free kick, Yang Jun couldn't handle it, and Timur Kapadze
made it 2-0. Alexander Geynrikh made it 3-0 in injury time and China went
out of the tournament.
So the Iranians simply needed a win to top Group C. And, despite an
improved Malaysian performance, they got it. Admittedly the Malaysians
deployed something like a 6-4-1 formation but at least they made Iran work
for its 2-0 win. A Javad Nekounam penalty opened the scoring in the first
half and Andranik Teymourian scored with a little more than ten minutes of
the match remaining.
Group D
For such a small country, Bahrain does rather well in football. But every
time the gulf nation is on the verge of glory, well, things go wrong
somehow.
The Bahrainis' tournament didn't get off to a great start against Group D
host Indonesia when Budi Sudarsono scored a fine goal after less that a
quarter of an hour. But the buoyant home crowd then saw Sayed Mahmood
Jalal equalise 15 minutes later after some pinball in the Indonesian
penalty box. Striker Bambang Pamungkas (the Indonesians are a
commentator's delight) made it 2-1 in the 62nd minute when he scored from
a rebound after a sensational long-range shot from Firman Utina was
parried onto the post. Bahrain's Rashed Al Dosari came close late in the
game but a draw would have flattered his team.
Saudi Arabia and South Korea met in an early heavyweight bout and, not
surprisingly, both were cautious. Yasser Al Qahtani could have scored in
the opening minute but there would be few other chances until the first
half ended with a lively few minutes. A fine Cho Jae-jin header gave the
Koreans the lead in the 66th minute (and he was rewarded by being
substituted immediately). But for most of the match South Korea didn't
look too sharp up forward. A dubious penalty gave Saudi Arabia the chance
to make it 1-1 and Yasser Al Qahtani made no mistake from the spot. With
just minutes left on the clock, the game was held up by a power failure!
After more than 20 minutes, the lights went back on and though the Saudis
ended the game with a late attacking flurry the result would be a draw.
Against Indonesia, Saudi Arabia would score a late goal to record a 2-1
win. An Al Qahtani header from a perfect Ahmed Al Bahri cross gave the
Saudis an early lead but the Indonesians hit back quickly when Elie Aiboy
showed great composure to round 'keeper Yasser Al Mosailem and slot the
ball home. In the second half the Saudis took control of the game but
Indonesia's defence and goalkeeper Yandri Pitoy heroically kept the score
level. Unfortunately for the home side, Saad Al Harthi scored for Saudi
Arabia with a header from a free kick deep into injury time.
Let's not forget about the good old Bahrainis because they produced their
best performance when they upset South Korea 2-1.They had to come from
behind though as the Koreans scored an early goal through an excellent Kim
Do-heon volley. Bahrain rarely threatened but suddenly produced a shock
equaliser late in the first half through Salman Isa. The Koreans lifted
their game in the second half but squandered their chances. They paid a
heavy price when some slack defending allowed striker Ismail Abdullatif to
score a winner just five minutes from time. With just one point from two
games, the highly-fancied Koreans were in serious danger of elimination.
South Korea now had to beat Indonesia and hope that Saudi Arabia didn't
draw with Bahrain. A draw would have been enough for Indonesia unless
Bahrain defeated the Saudis. Pim Verbeek made six changes to the Korean
team and they seemed to be working as his side controlled play and reduced
Indonesia to a few counter attacks. In the 35th minute, Lee Chun-soo made
a strong lateral run, passed to Kim Jung-woo and his shot made it 1-0 with
the help of a deflection. South Korea squandered opportunities to score
more goals in the second half but the Indonesians rarely threatened and
the final whistle ended their hopes of a place in the last eight. The
Koreans have been unconvincing but they live to fight another day. They
will face Iran in the quarter-finals.
Remember, a draw would now be good enough for Bahrain and ... they lost
4-0. But in fairness, Saudi Arabia turned on its best performance to take
the three points and win Group D. The Bahrainis started brightly but fell
behind to an Ahmed Al Mousa goal in the 18th minute. Again the underdogs
pressed forward but they would find themselves 2-0 down when a magnificent
build up resulted in a goal for Abdulrahman Al Qahtani. Bahrain would be
further punished for its inability to take chances when a wonder strike by
Taisir Al Jassam flew into the back of the net in the 68th minute. There
was enough time for Al Jassam to get a second and put Bahrain out of its
misery. The Saudis now face Uzbekistan in the quarter-finals.
Quarter-Final line up
Iraq v Vietnam (in Thailand)
Iran v South Korea (in Malaysia)
Japan v Australia (in Vietnam)
Saudi Arabia v Uzbekistan (in Indonesia)
The winners of the first two listed matches play each other in the
semi-finals (so we could get Iraq v Iran!) and the Japan-Australia winner
plays the Saudi-Uzbekistan winner.
What a fascinating four games they will be. I can't wait to tell you about
them!
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