Qatar 2011

[sevengoals]

Jordan 2- 1 Syria--- 64 min

Saudi Arabia 0 - 4 Japan--- 64 min

[blahblah]

5-0 Japan at the finish. Saudi Arabia, team nor fans, failed to show.

The Quarters on one side are thus Qatar v Japan (thank you and goodnight Qatar) and Jordan v Uzbekistan (compulsory viewing).

[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!

I got that one wrong, it went back down the line and they sacked the temporary coach, Al Johar

[sevengoals]

^^^^
But it's probably not that far away if events in Tunisia are anything to go by...




Eurosport Deutschland are showing the Australia Vs Bahrain game live!

Ya hooo!!!

[David Votoupal]

Appropriate clip for this game:

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=92cwKCU8Z5c&ob=av2em

[sevengoals]

Appropriate clip for this game:

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=92cwKCU8Z5c&ob=av2em

DV you champion!

"wolf whistle!"

"Hubba hubba!"

[blahblah]

I like the sentiment, gentlemen.

Last night was a wet, sloppy encounter and I'm not really sure what we can take from it. Jedinak looks like he can score but not create anything in the midfield. Emo got himself booked which may open the door for Nathan in the next match.

Tonight's games should be interesting as three teams are gunning for second spot and each needs a win to be confident of achieving it. UAE are a chance against Iran who may relax a little though undoubtedly the game to watch will be the North Korea v Iraq encounter. North Korea look uncertain to me and I don't think the heroics of the human wrecking ball will be enough. There is a very good chance we'll be facing Iraq in the quarters.

[Steelinho]

Last night was a match of tactical nous versus technical ability. Fortunately for us, technical ability edged it.

I don't think Osieck sent them out in preparation to actually win the game; you could tell that as soon as Jedinak scored that goal, there was a fire in the players that made them actually believe they could get a good result out of this one. Kind of disappointing, but it was exactly what I expected from Herr Blau. His reliance on individual moments of brilliance could cost us dearly in the next few rounds, so here's hoping he wisens up to the task at hand.

There's a very good chance we'll see Kruse start on the right next game with Holman staying on that left wing. If Nathan's still recovering from the flu (which is a likely scenario), he'll probably come off the bench for Kruse in the second half. That's why Kruse came on late in the game; gives him a chance to prepare and adjust to the team that will be around him.

And I must say, while McKay is definitely not a left back and lacks the tactical know-how to ever be considered one, he did a good job filling in for Carney (who, while far from being a left back himself, is still better). Didn't overlap or make any runs, but was smart in passing and keeping posession. Would make a decent wide midfielder for that reason.

[shinAUFC]

i wanted to punch the screen when kruse came on, is this normal or just me ? lol

[Steelinho]

i wanted to punch the screen when kruse came on, is this normal or just me ? lol

Don't worry, it's the Victory shirt.

I had absolutely no problem with Nick Mrdja for ages, but as soon as he played in that shirt, he looked absolutely c-word-ish. I think it gives its wearer a bitter and arrogant outlook and only a few of them can escape its clutches (namely Eugene).

[David Votoupal]

Appropriate clip for this game:

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=92cwKCU8Z5c&ob=av2em

DV you champion!

"wolf whistle!"

"Hubba hubba!"

I was trying to figure out how to embed youtube clips here.

[Yids]

i wanted to punch the screen when kruse came on, is this normal or just me ? lol

Don't worry, it's the Victory shirt.

I had absolutely no problem with Nick Mrdja for ages, but as soon as he played in that shirt, he looked absolutely c-word-ish. I think it gives its wearer a bitter and arrogant outlook and only a few of them can escape its clutches (namely Eugene).

Agreed. You could put Jesus, the Pope or Santa in that shirt and instantly you have the urge to hate them.

[blahblah]

Iran are gathering some momentum with a 3-0 win last night. The Team Melli v Taegeuk Warriors clash is probably pick of the Quarterfinals.

It appears we shall be playing Iraq once again. Perhaps this time with our eyes are little more open than our encounter four years ago at Rajamangalla Stadium in Bangkok.

[blahblah]

The first of the quarterfinals kick off tonight. First up is Qatar v Japan and whilst Cesar is starting to get some goals I'm not seeing so much from Quintana though he did almost score against Kuwait. Still I think that Qatar look too shakey at the back and wouldn't be surprised if Kagawa finds the back of the net in this game.

The next game is interesting with two slower but well drilled sides who won't be easily pushed off the ball. Jordan's defense has been impressive however I don't think that they have enough going forward to overly worry the Uzbeks with Akhmedov at the back who in my opinion has been player of the tournament to date. Djeparov is going to be key here though I expect Geynrikh to cause problems as usual. This may be a game where Tursunov comes to the fore as Shatsikh hasn't looked sharp enough thus far. I expect the White Wolves to progress for the first time in three tournaments.

[blahblah]

Wow, great game thus far. Japan screwed by the ref again, down to 10 men (with Yoshida getting one soft and another phantom yellow)and 2-1 down..... enter Kagawa. He's had two goals and managed ti take on two defenders and the goalkeeper to set up the third. It's now 3-2 to Japan.

Great game.

4 minutes injury time