Asian Cup - Group Preview - Friendlies, Information and more..

[NFL]

Watch out for the Uzbeks. they are gonna come to this tournament with a chip on their shoulder.

[Rumez]

I was ready to complain about being in a group with Bahrain and Qatar again.... but the I realized beside Palestine, they are the easiest out there!
I think if we continue our organized style of football, we can overcome these teams with more ease than before.
But the thing is our quality ain't the same as 1996-2010 era, so we need to prepare for more 1-0 results in the future, because the era of 3-0 against other Asian teams has past.

[eerooni]

Arggg UAE is going to be a pain in the a** Im sure of it...

I can assure you they won't! UAE players today are no match for Iran. We have much more depth stamina and skill plus we will have a secret weapon called CARLOS QUEIROZ!

[Asghar Agha]

Middle East's finest look to follow Iran and Algeria blueprints on road to 2018 World Cup

By John Duerden | Brazil Banter

For all but the very best, the 2014 World Cup is over and for those who want to join the top table next time around in Russia, the preparations are already starting, or they should be.

Football never stops and it is something that North Africa and the Middle East would do well to remember.
That is why Algeria did their utmost to persuade coach Vahid Halilhodzic to stay and Iran did, with seemingly more success, the same with Carlos Queiroz.
Stability is a crucial building block. A coach who can deliver results and improvement is precious indeed and regardless, nobody wants to start all over again - again.

[Keano]

It's so bizarre, we almost always get grouped with Qatar, UAE and Bahrain!

[saeed_noro]

I think right now the best programs/friendlies are organized by:

1) clearly UAE
2) Uzbekistan
3) Jordan

Therfore i also think that Jordan will be better prepared as Iraq and they can and in my opinion will make the race in that group.

I only hope Iran starts good and win the first two matches and make sure Japan also win their group to avoid clash in quarterfinal.

Iran should definitely win their group, which seems harder compared to Japan wining their group. But i hope both teams will first meet in final instead quarterfinal..


Iran than will play Jordan and after this Australia i think...

[Karimi 8]

man our group is going to be annoying with these grass rolling arab teams

[Ghermez Agha]

I heard the UAE team is much improved and can give TM a very hard time. Ill definitely be keeping an eye on them over the next few months with the hype around them I've been hearing.

[saeed_noro]

Fans from GERMANY or other european neighbor countries, or fans in general from America and so on, are you ready to go to australia? if you are interested, probably we can organize together, tickets are not so expensive, only flight, stay, travel..

But if you are interested why not?

Somebody in Sydney, Melbourne here, who has a room or guest bed free or wants me to visit him? = also invitation to Germany whenever you like to come

[Sharkie]

3 Arab teams in our group?! Dammit! FIFA and AFC better look closely to any cheating among the Arab teams.

[shahname]

Iran better crush all three of them and leave no place at all for cheating among them!

[Kiarash]

Arghhh I hate our group. UAE, Qatar and Bahrain annoy the hell out of me. They won't be pushovers guys, don't expect to win us with huge a huge scoreline. When was the last time we beat Qatar with more than 1-0?

[saeed_noro]

Guys do you remember the schedule before or right after the draw?? Because it seems they changed some venues, so that it is not in our favor anymore.


1) I remember right after the draw we talked here in the forum that we will avoid Australia and Japan until final and we will play in final vs. the winner of semifinal Australia vs. Japan if both teams win their group.

Now I checked, Iran can be paired with Australia or korea in semifinal, before I thought we will play group b in semifinal!!???!

2) the quarterfinal as Wimmer of Group c i remember, when i opend this Thread. I remember that we will Be paired with runner up of group D in brisbane for quarterfinal???!? Now we face in Canberra runner up of C!!?!

I remember that the route was just perfect but now it seems they look for the number of tickets asked by countries and changed venue or they did it in Australia's favor, so that they face japan in final, as they think meeting Iran in semis is better as Japan....
Somebody remember better??

Also in the official website the schedule is only done for group matches, not for knockout matches, you have somehow to find out yourself when you go to host cities of that site, and Asian cup calendar on the right side, to find out which city has which games.....it smells bad..who can help...?

[aenima_8]

In addition to previously planned Friendlies, Australia has also confirmed preparation matches with Qatar and Belgium.

http://www.insideworldfootball.com/w...nd-belgium-too

[Kiarash]

Japan just appointed Mexican coach Javier Aguirre. South Korea still without a coach.