China, Iran qualify for Asian Cup 2011

CHINA and Iran qualified for the 2011 Asian Cup finals yesterday, but Indonesia and Vietnam crashed out of contention. They join Uzbekistan and Syria who had already booked their places at the showpiece in Qatar, along with the host nation and Iraq, Saudi Arabia and South Korea, the top three in the 2007 tournament. Perennial underachievers [...]

Iran book ticket to Asian Cup 2011

IRAN became the latest team to book their place in the AFC Asian Cup finals in Doha next January after a 3-1 away win over Singapore at the National Stadium in their penultimate Group E qualifier. Hadi Aghily converted a penalty before further strikes from Mehrzad Madanchi and substitute Gholamreza Rezaei secured the three points while Noh Alam [...]

Asian Cup Q: Time running out for Thailand

THAILAND’s hopes of reaching the 2011 AFC Asian Cup were dealt a blow as they were held to a goalless draw by Jordan at Rajamangala Stadium in Bangkok on Wednesday. A victory for either side would have put them in a strong position to claim one of the two qualifying spots in Group E but neither were able to make the crucial breakthrough in a [...]

Asian Cup Q: China through despite Syria stalemate

SHAO Jiayi was left to rue his luck as China were held to a goalless draw by Syria in an AFC Asian Cup 2011 qualifier at Yellow Dragon Stadium on Wednesday. Shao (pic) saw one effort cleared off the line and another hit the crossbar against the Group D leaders but it mattered little as the hosts booked their place in Doha next year alongside [...]

Asian Cup Q: Doha dream over for Vietnam

VIETNAM's slim hopes of reaching the 2011 AFC Asian Cup ended on Wednesday as Henrique Calisto’s side shared a 1-1 draw with Lebanon in a Group D match at Saida Municipal Stadium. Lebanon took the lead after 20 minutes through Mahmoud El Ali with a first-time volley from inside the area before Pham Thanh Luong levelled the scores for Vietnam [...]

Asian Cup Q: Hirayama hat-trick rescues Japan

SOTA Hirayama grabbed a hat-trick as Japan came from two goals down to beat Yemen 3-2 at the Ali Mohsen Al Muraisi Stadium and secure their place at the 2011 AFC Asian Cup. The hosts had taken a commanding lead in the Group A encounter after Basem Al Aqel opened the scoring in the 13th minute before Sami Karama doubled their advantage in the [...]

Asian Cup Q: Kuwait rally to stay on course for Qatar 2011

GROUP B leaders Kuwait and Australia remained on course for the 2011 AFC Asian Cup finals after sharing a 2-2 draw on Wednesday. Australia stormed into two goal lead after just four minutes at Kuwait Sports Club Stadium as Russia-based Luke Wilkshire and Central Coast Mariners defender Dean Hefferman struck for the visitors. However, Kuwait [...]

Asian Cup Q: Bahrain bound for Qatar

ISMAEEL Abdulatif's hat-trick helped Bahrain secure a place at the 2011 AFC Asian Cup finals after Milan Macala's men hammered Hong Kong 4-0 at the Bahrain National Stadium. Abdulatif grabbed his treble in the space of just nine first-half minutes to settle the Group A encounter before Abdullah Al Dakeel added a fourth 11 minutes from the [...]

Asian Cup Q: Oman back in contention

OMAN thrust themselves firmly back into the qualification picture for the 2011 AFC Asian Cup as Ismail Sulaiman's second-half goal sealed a 2-1 triumph over Indonesia at the Gelora Bung Karno Stadium. Fouzi Basheer (pic) had given the visitors the lead after 31 minutes only for Boas Salossa to cancel out the effort in first-half [...]

Asian Cup 2011 Q: UAE beat Malaysia 1-0

SECOND-half substitute Ahmed Khalil struck in the third minute of stoppage-time as UAE sealed their place at the 2011 AFC Asian Cup finals with a 1-0 win over Malaysia at Al Shabab Stadium on Wednesday. The home side dominated the entire contest but failed to convert any of their chances until former AFC Young Player of the Year Khalil curled [...]