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

[persianfire]

Japan 2 - 1 Australia
62' 1 - 0 Konno
69' 2 - 0 Okazaki
90+2' 2 - 1 Cahill

China 0 - 0 Honduras

Estonia 1 - 0 Jordan

How did Japan and Australia play? We must beat them to win the title.

[greatpersian]

How did Japan and Australia play? We must beat them to win the title.

The Japanese were sleeping for the first 30 minutes. After changing system to a 4-2-3-1 they dominated the Aussies completely. 3-1 or 4-1 was a fair result. Last week they also trashed Honduras 6-0 that tied US last month. Like it or not, they are head and shoulders above any Asian team. Squad wise they are on par with 2nd tier Euro teams that have over 10 starting players in the top leagues. I really don't know why they sucked so bad at the WC. I know friendlies are friendlies but they beat five of the quarter-finalists (France, Argentina, Belgium, Netherlands and Costa Rica) between 2010 and 2014.

Anyways I would say Japan is the favorite followed by Iran and Australia.

[GoIran]

Anyways I would say Japan is the favorite followed by Iran and Australia.

Korea should replace Australia as the contenders. Australia even lost to Qatar last month.

[greatpersian]

Korea should replace Australia as the contenders. Australia even lost to Qatar last month.

Australia missed tons of chances in the Qatar game. Plus they usually do well at home.
South Korea is a declining powerhouse in Asia. They have struggled against their AFC rivals.

vs Iran (last 3 matches)
(A) 0-1 (2012 WCQ)
(H) 0-1 (2013 WCQ)
(A) 0-1 (2014 Friendly)
vs Australia (last 3 matches)
(N) 1-1 (2011 AC)
(H) 1-2 (2012 Friendly)
(H) 0-0 (2014 Friendly)
vs Japan (last 3 matches)
(N) 2-2 (2011 AC)
(A) 0-3 (2011 Friendly)
(H) 1-2 (2013 Friendly)
9 games - 0 wins / 3 draws / 6 defeats

[ShirFarhad]

Australia missed tons of chances in the Qatar game. Plus they usually do well at home.
South Korea is a declining powerhouse in Asia. They have struggled against their AFC rivals.
vs Iran (last 3 matches)
(A) 0-1 (2012 WCQ)
(H) 0-1 (2013 WCQ)
(A) 0-1 (2014 Friendly)
vs Australia (last 3 matches)
(N) 1-1 (2011 AC)
(H) 1-2 (2012 Friendly)
(H) 0-0 (2014 Friendly)
vs Japan (last 3 matches)
(N) 2-2 (2011 AC)
(A) 0-3 (2011 Friendly)
(H) 1-2 (2013 Friendly)
9 games - 0 wins / 3 draws / 6 defeats

Let's be fair. In all these matches against us, South Korea had more dangerous chances. I haven't seen their matches against Japan and Australia, but I did see their matches at the World Cup. In the two matches that they lost over there, they played very good and created more chances than their opponents (Algeria and Belgium). It's true, that the results are not in their favour, but quality wise they are still one of the best in Asia.

[webmaster]

[MR.ESTESNAII]

Japan is going to win this thing by a storm!!! I am willing to bet

[Z Joon]

UAE and Iraq are playing right now. Honestly we should be able to deal with them without much trouble if Queiroz prepared the players mentally. We better not lose any game in the group stages.

[Kavian]

There will be no question this coming Asian Cup is going to be one of toughest ever played. May be for exception of Palestine, even the lower ranked teams are strong and capable or producing surprises.

If we go by the usual suspects rule, you will most likely see Australia vs Saudi/Uzbekistan, Korea vs Saudi/Uzbekistan, Japan vs UAE/Qatar, Iran vs Jordan/Iraq, fighting it out in the semis. In the quarterfinals, it will Japan vs Korea and Iran vs Australia... and from there chances that the Japan and Australia face each other again in the final is pretty high.

However, the real question to answer here is which team is going to be the surprise element who is going to change that equation and force a different match ups at semi finals. Would it be Oman, China, UAE, Qatar, Iraq or Jordan?

DON"T FORGET ... Australia is awaiting a match against Iran. This will be one of most watched games in the history of Asian Cup.

[Afat11]

There will be no question this coming Asian Cup is going to be one of toughest ever played. May be for exception of Palestine, even the lower ranked teams are strong and capable or producing surprises.

If we go by the usual suspects rule, you will likely see Korea vs Saudi or Uzbekistan, Japan vs Uzbekistan or Saudi, Iran vs Australia, and UAE or Qatar vs Korea in the semis and from there the chances of seeing Japan and Australia fighting it out for the first place again is pretty high.

But the real question to answer is which team is going to be a surprise team who is going to change the balance and force a different match ups at semi finals. Would it be Oman, China, UAE, Qatar, Iraq or Jordan? I say if any, It would probably be UAE.
And may be, it would be a easier route for Iran to face Korea in the semis than Australia.

BUT .. I have to say, Australia is awaiting a match against Iran. They want revenge!!!

Who doesn't want revenge on Iran though? Maybe Japan? Uzbeks, Koreans, Australians, all Arab nations want revenge on Iran for some reason. I think we might be the most hated team generally in Asia. Only nation that doesn't seem to have problems with us is Japan, and if we play them, they will probably start hating us too.

All I can say is... HATERS GONNA HATE.

DOO DOO DOO DO DOO IRAN!

[Kavian]

Who doesn't want revenge on Iran though? Maybe Japan? Uzbeks, Koreans, Australians, all Arab nations want revenge on Iran for some reason. I think we might be the most hated team generally in Asia. Only nation that doesn't seem to have problems with us is Japan, and if we play them, they will probably start hating us too.

All I can say is... HATERS GONNA HATE.

DOO DOO DOO DO DOO IRAN!

Well... when you beat them 3 times in a row and force them to blame it on the referee, score on the minute 93 to leave them wonder wtf happened, humiliate them with score of 6 to zip, and finally break their heart in front of their own fans after being down by 2 goals and level the score over 3 minutes, to force them watch the world cup on tv only .... I guess, all of that leaves a bad taste and give a good reason to want a revenge!!!

BUT .. een Asian Cup is not going to be like the previous one ...KOON mizareem!!!!

[Z Joon]

Who doesn't want revenge on Iran though? Maybe Japan? Uzbeks, Koreans, Australians, all Arab nations want revenge on Iran for some reason. I think we might be the most hated team generally in Asia. Only nation that doesn't seem to have problems with us is Japan, and if we play them, they will probably start hating us too.

All I can say is... HATERS GONNA HATE.

DOO DOO DOO DO DOO IRAN!

Hate is good. Remember, if someone is hating you, it means that you are doing everything right. Everybody is mad that a country like Iran that is handicapped by all the sanctions and the politics running around the country walks past their own teams.

[Abtin]

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

[Lorestani]

Is that an official illustration? Why would there use the flag of the Islamic Republic for our pre-revolution victories?

[Abtin]

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

Is that an official illustration? Why would there use the flag of the Islamic Republic for our pre-revolution victories?

Posted by AFC's official Facebook I'm pretty sure they just want to avoid political problems with IR.