AFC ASIAN CUP 2007

[SaintTim]

ok mate enjoy your sleep..

your clock should say 1.56

[Lukiebakercafc]

You not in bed yet Tim? I think it's time you went before your hip starts playing up again, grandad!!!!!

[SaintTim]

less of the cheek boy

[SaintTim]

Arnold appeals to players

After justifiably slamming his players following Friday night's Iraq embarrassment, Socceroos coach Graham Arnold has appealed to them to book a place in Australian sporting folklore by coming back from the dead at the Asian Cup.

Arnold is under siege from supporters and commentators alike as outrage grows in Australia over how a team who rose to national icon status at the World Cup last year could fall so far so soon.

But despite producing two of the worst performances in recent memory by a Socceroos team in the past week with mainly the same personnel, Australia are still well within reach of the tournament second stage.

Victory over host nation Thailand at Rajamangala Stadium on Monday and Iraq taking at least a point from Oman in the other Group A match would send the Socceroos through to the quarter-finals.

That is likely to mean a clash with the other pre-tournament favourite Japan in Hanoi next Saturday, but would require a form reversal against the Thais of mammoth proportions to get that far.

To win the tournament from this position would require a far more phenomenal turnaround.

Yet Arnold declared both he and his team were up for the challenge of doing something great, starting on Monday against a pumped-up host nation aiming to top the group and build Asian Cup fever in their own country.

Arnold believes the Socceroos reverting to their favoured backs-to-the-wall position could be the key to finally unlocking the genie at this tournament.

He cited the Australian cricket team losing their two lead-up tournaments ahead of their unbeaten run through the World Cup as proof of how a bad start can be overcome.

"We have to throw everything at Thailand and I think we've got a great chance," said Arnold.

"We're back in the position where Australians love to be, and that's underdogs. All Australian sportsmen love a dogfight."

While his players will face exactly that for 90 minutes on Monday, Arnold's hopes of maintaining the job towards the 2010 World Cup have suffered monumentally at the hands of his underachieving squad to date.

He went as far as to question whether his star-studded line-up wanted to be at the tournament after Friday night's insipid 3-1 loss to Iraq.

Iraq outplayed Australia both ends to run out deserved winners and made a mockery of Arnold's decision to keep faith with 10 of the starting 11 who failed against Oman without any visible tactical adjustments.

There will be at least one change for Thailand, with defender Lucas Neill suspended after being foolishly sent off in the dying seconds against Iraq for a second yellow card offence.

But Arnold refused to be drawn on how many others may be shipped out for Monday's match - suggesting wholesale changes were unlikely.

"The fact is you've got to win the game, you don't go out straight away and throw everything out the door," he said.

"If there is going to be changes it will be down to fatigue, injuries and maybe getting some fresh legs on the field because it's only a short turnaround."

[SaintTim]

Australia coach Graham Arnold said Saturday's penalty shootout defeat by defending champions Japan in their AFC Asian Cup quarter-final was the toughest loss of his coaching career as the Socceroos failed to met their pre-tournament expectations.

John Aloisi had fired the Socceroos into a 70th-minute lead with a close-range finish from Harry Kewell's inviting corner, but after Naohiro Takahara quickly levelled for Japan and Vince Grella was dismissed with 14 minutes remaining it was always going to be hard for Arnold and his side.

Kewell and Lucas Neill both saw their spot kicks saved by Japan goalkeeper Yoshikatsu Kawaguchi and despite Tim Cahill, Nicky Carle and David Carney all converting, veteran Japan defender Yuji Nakazawa stepped up to seal the 4-3 victory.

"We have learned a lot in the last couple of weeks, Asia is very difficult. The expectations I put on the team were semi-finals minimum and so obviously it's below expectations," said Arnold.

"This is the toughest loss I have suffered in my coaching career, guaranteed. We have done a lot of work to get where we are and I think the players responded. Our form wasn't great in the first two games, but I thought we showed a huge improvement over the four games."

"I was extremely proud of the players because of the performance they put in these conditions. We were a man short for a long time and they worked very hard and I couldn't be more proud."

Arnold admitted the 76th-minute dismissal of Parma midfielder Grella for an alleged elbow on Japan striker Takahara was the turning point.

"The red card was unexpected. In these conditions to play with 10-men it's murder when the players aren't used to it, but the whole of Australia should be very proud of the players," added Arnold.

"They gave everything they had. We had to defend a lot because of the extra man; it's always hard to play with 10 men against a quality side like Japan."

Japan coach Ivica Osim, who returned to the dressing room until the shootout was over, insisted his side deserved their place in the semi-finals after admitting he was 'satisfied' with the performance for the first time in his career with the national team.

Osim has been reluctant to say he was 'satisfied' with any of Japan's previous outings, insisting a coach should never be content with the performance of his side.

"It would have been much nicer if we could have finished the game without playing the shootout. But even if we wanted, Australia didn't let us do that," he said.

"They have a good goalkeeper and four or five good defenders. Also, you have to consider the fatigue of your players."

"I'm convinced that we played better than our opposition before the sending-off and after the sending-off. We attacked from the sides as we had planned."

[SaintTim]

Iraq win AFC Asian Cup

A 71st-minute header from Younes Mahmoud has earned Iraq a historic 1-0 win over Saudi Arabia and their first-ever AFC Asian Cup title at Gelora Bung Karno Stadium.

The 24-year-old striker converted Hawar Mulla Mohammed's corner to give the war-torn nation the trophy and end Saudi Arabia's hopes of a record-breaking fourth continental title.

The win is the pinnacle of a fairytale run to the title by the Iraqis, who were forced to prepare for the tournament outside their homeland as a result of the continuing security situation.

Iraq made the first foray towards goal in the sixth minute when Qusay Munir managed to fire a shot that was just wide of Yasser Al Mosailem's right post.

Two minutes later Mahmoud's overhead kick angled across the face of the Saudi goal, while Karrar Jassim's close control saw him beat two defenders before firing a shot that Al Mosailem had to steer around a post.

Despite going into the final as the less fancied of the two teams, the Iraqis always looked the more likely to score and Jorvan Vieira's team tried their luck again three minutes before the break when Jassim sent his effort wide from long range.

Yasser Al Qahtani threatened for the Saudis prior to the interval when he beat the Iraqi defence, only to see his shot deflected wide for a corner.

But that was a rare foray forward by a Saudi side pinned back in their own half for much of the first 45 minutes, and it was a similar story in the second half.

Nashat Akram's shot on the turn was blocked by defender Walid Abdrabh in the 57th minute, while five minutes later, Al Mosailem was forced into a double save to keep the scores level as Iraq hit on the break.

Mahmoud's effort was the first to be kept out by the Al Ahli goalkeeper when he parried away from goal only for the ball to fall at the feet of Akram, but his attempt was also blocked by Al Mosailem.

That came just seconds after Noor Sabri had dived at full stretch to his right to deny Taiseer Al Jassam from distance at the other end.

The Iraqi dominance continued, however, as Mohammed's inviting cross was headed narrowly wide by Mahmoud in the 66th minute.

But five minutes later the Al Gharafa striker made no mistake.

Mohammed sent over a corner from the Iraqi right, Al Mosailem mis-read the flight of the ball and Mahmoud appeared at the far post to head home.

With 13 minutes to go Iraq could have made the game safe when Akram released Mahmoud, only for Al Mosailem to redeem himself by saving with his feet.

But it proved to be insignificant as the tournament underdogs held on for victory and recorded a truly remarkable triumph against all the odds.

[SaintTim]

Iraq coach praises players

Jorvan Vieira said he always knew there was something special about the Iraq team he had been asked to coach when he first met them at a training camp in Jordan.

The Brazilian had been charged with one of the most difficult challenges any coach had ever taken on: to mould a team of Shi'ite, Sunni and Kurdish players in to a championship-winning unit in the space of two months.

Vieira had his initial doubts when only a handful of players turned up to the first training session but soon discovered a rare quality about his squad.

"We all know the problems in Iraq but I have learnt that they are a fantastic people. They have an extraordinary power," he told a news conference after their 1-0 win over Saudi Arabia in Sunday's final.

"We did not have much time so we had to work quickly. We sometimes fought, we sometimes argued, but we got the work done."

"It was very difficult but I am very proud of these boys."

Vieira, who confirmed he was not seeking an extension to his two-month contract after the final, knew his players had all been touched by the war and it wasn't long until he too was affected.

"Our team physio, he was a good man. He was killed in a bomb blast last month. He left behind a wife and four kids," Vieira said.

The Iraqi players were able to mask their grief throughout the tournament although there were constant reminders of the sectarian violence at home.

The entire squad wore black armbands during the final in memory of the 50 people killed by suicide bombers after Wednesday's semi-final win over Korea Republic.

The Iraqi captain Younis Mahmoud, who was named player of the tournament after scoring the winning goal in the final, said the team had been determined to win after watching a television report from Iraq with the mother of one of the victims.

"There was this mother who had seen her little boy killed by a bomb after the match and she was saying he had been sacrificed so that we would win the match," Mahmoud said.

[arover]

What an achievement, when you consider the circumstances one of the best ever.

[SaintTim]

Yep they have done very well, but i still dont understand how Iraq can be in the Asian cup ? they are not Asian