Qatar 2011

[sevengoals]

60 min
0-1

[sevengoals]

Yes!

61 min
1-1

yes!

Fire up!

[sevengoals]

80 min

1-1

Australia much better in the second half.

[sevengoals]

1-1
all over

[Nash]

not without damage

Culina, Wilks and Carney. sheesh...

[terry tibbs]

Neither side looked particularly convincing.

The first half looked like it was being played in driving rain, with the rain digitally removed from the picture.

Strange, low-key game - but may be to do with the (possibly) Arabic commentator on my stream. Didn't get really excited at all, and I have no idea yet how the injuries may affect us.

[blahblah]

In all I felt sorry for Dave Carney who I thought was going some way to answer his critics tonight. He had two very good players in Dur Ri and Lee marauding down the left and generally he managed to position himself well enough that they struggled to cut inside him.

The Koreans struggled to contain Kewell who I thought had a very good night out as did Brett Holman. I thought Emo was being contained a fair bit on the right and was hoping that Burns would get a run however injuries more or less put paid to that.

A very cagey game that I quite enjoyed.

Incidentally India put 2 past Bahrain and went down 5-2.

[David Votoupal]

All we need is a point to qualify. We should beat Bahrain, but even so South Korea will beat India comfortably, but will they exceed our score against them?

Watching Japan-Syria, I can empathise with the frustrations of Japan in victory. Australia, Japan and South Korea have the same frustrations playing in Asia- having to deal with Chinese and Arab teams who will use every hook and crook in the book.

This to read.

[Nash]

This to read.

wow, a LOT of venom in those words. talk about heat. i missed the match so can't comment, but damn, that's passion.

[David Votoupal]

It's a brilliant site.

Refreshing to know we are not alone in Asia, in having to deal with cynical and underhanded tactics. Really, the best we (and the other two) can do is develop a ruthless streak and stand up to these antics.

[blahblah]

This to read.

a harsh last line there though some of the officiating from the West Asian refs hasn't been great (the Uzbeks were pretty hard done by in their game against Kuwait.... still won though). Incidentally why am I seeing so many West Asian referees?

Group A is to be decided tonight and anyone can go through.

The Uzbeks are sitting pretty on 6 points and playing the Chinese who are on 3. China have gone for the physical approach however I think it won't work against the Uzbeks who are a pretty sturdy bunch. Djeparov and Geynrikh are on fire up front though the latter is sitting on a yellow so needs to be cautious and as such may be subbed early. Akhmedov has been imperious in the backline and at 23 is probably being eyed by a myriad of scouts.

Qatar are playing Kuwait in what is likely to be an entertaining encounter if they don't try to play the referee too often. Qatar look good going forward though their backline remains an absolute shambles and are unlikely to worry Al-Enezi too much. The guy is on fire at the moment. Both sides need a win as a draw could see them both out of the tournament if China manages a point against the Uzbeks. Kuwait are still a chance though on 0 points if they manufacture a win by 2 goals and China lose to the Uzbeks. It's all to play for tonight.

[blahblah]

incidentally Saudi Arabia lost the first game, so the football federation president, Sultan bin Fahd bin Abdul-Aziz, sacked coach Jose Peseiro.

Saudi, now a little adrift, went on to lose their second game. So King Abdullah sacked the Sultan as President of the federation.

The US is no doubt watching the situation closely with troops on standby as oil markets get the jitters, for the next logical step should Saudi lose their final game ...... regime change with extreme prejudice!

[blahblah]

5 minutes in and China have scored. The Uzbeks have control of the game however every time the Chinese break they look like they'll score. Qatar have also scored against Kuwait, no-one is playing for a draw it seems.

EDIT: make that two for Qatar

[blahblah]

Akhmedov scores with a one-two with Djeparov. It's another goal from open play for the centre back who is shaping up as an early contender for player of the tournament. We are losing Fyfe? There's a kid in Uzbekistan who may fit the bill......... if we can afford him

[blahblah]

Another group to be decided tonight. A fired up Samurai Blue take on the dishevelled and disheartened Green Falcons, so oddly enough the game to watch is most likely to be the Jordan v Syria fixture. Both sides have found themselves in unfamiliar territory. Syria have looked more structured going forward with Ayan giving them something in the midfield however I do not think they have the cattle to break down the Jordanian defence being marshalled by Aqel & Naseen and the ever reliable Shafia between the sticks.