Week two in the Asian Cup has come and gone in a flash, as we waved farewell to Oman, Kuwait, Korea DPR, Qatar, Bahrain and Palestine who will play their final matches in the group stage next week before heading home. Only three places remain in the quarter final line-up, so the final round of matches will prove to be far from pedestrian. Time to assess the winners and losers that made up Game Week 2.
The Player
When comments from your coach compare you to World Cup winning striker Geoff Hurst, you know that you’ve had a pretty decent match. While, it might be a slight exaggeration to compare the talents of the two players, over one match Hamza Al-Dardour had the same desired effect as he turned around Jordan’s Asian Cup campaign to move within one match of qualification for the quarter finals. Four goals capped off a dazzling display where he continued to cause havoc in the Palestine defence in what was the striker’s first appearance in the tournament.
Al-Dardour’s name is hardly of household stock in the footballing community, arguably not even in the Jordanian football community, with manager Ray Wilkins admitting afterwards that he hadn’t got a clue of his match winner’s previous career. In truth it hasn’t been spectacular, especially domestically. He’s yet to really settle at one club but continues to be a regular squad member with Jordan, in which he has impressed in spurts through numerous age groups.
His pace and cool head in front of goal were devastating against Palestine. From the first whistle, his running in behind continued to push Jordan up the pitch which ultimately proved the catalyst for victory. A return from injury of usual striker Ahmad Hayal is unlikely to disturb Al-Dardour’s place in the XI against Japan, where a victory of any sorts will guarantee progression. Not an easy task for Wilkins’ Jordan side against the pre-tournament favourites, however considering he’s only just broken his duck after 10 months without a win, Jordan can count their blessings for selecting Al-Dardour out in attack.
The Team
Many lauded the back-to-back victories and subsequent qualification of China PR and UAE, however the true highlight from Game Week 2 came from Australia. The hosts have inched forward under the radar despite dispatching Kuwait and Oman comprehensively, scoring 8 goals over the first couple weeks of competition. These games were clearly seen as gimmes, but given Korea Republic’s struggles against the same opposition in the reverse fixtures illustrates the quality Australia are displaying to their home fans.
Hosting a continental tournament such as the Asian Cup can go one of two ways for the national team concerned. Either expectations are too much to deal with, leading to players collapsing within themselves and choking under pressure, or in Australia’s case, using the home support as a force for change to rectify what has been some dismal form over the last 12 months. While crowd’s have turned out in high numbers for all the games at the competition, Australia often double or even treble like for like venues and they’re using it to their advantage.
Postecoglou’s use of his squad has also brought praise from outside, eight different scorers have notched up a goal at the tournament, with three of the new starters against Oman repaying the faith put in them. Qualification has come at a counter, but the real tests are still come as Australia seek to top the group with a positive result against a lukewarm Korea Republic side. There’s still plenty more football to be played, but the Socceroos’ look to have finally found their groove since Postecoglou took the reins.
The Talking Point
Two months after a solid tournament victory in Saudi Arabia’s Gulf Cup, many looked at Qatar as the most likely dark horse in replicating their tournament winning form in Australia. What has followed has been underwhelming, as they exit the tournament with one game to spare, comprehensively beaten by West Asian rivals UAE and Iran. 2014 was the most successful year in modern Qatari football, while fans can only hope that 2015 doesn’t see the most unspectacular response.
The post-mortem has already started, as the media rips apart preparations, team selection and individual performances in the search for answers. The initial squad announcement caused raised eyebrows after long term attacking leader Sebastian Soria was left out of the 23. Since then promising manager Djamel Belmadi has continued to over-tinker with the status quo including a baffling decision to leave playmaker Khalfan Ibrahim out of the line-up for the Iranian encounter.
On the pitch, blame has been firmly placed at goalkeeper Qasem Burhan’s door who fell foul to 3 out of the 4 UAE goals and has since failed to regain any confidence. A lack of attacking invention from those who starred at the Gulf Cup, from the likes of Boualem Khoukhi and Hassan Al-Haidos just hasn’t remerged in the Asian Cup, while injury to skipper Bilal Mohammed can give them at least one excuse to fall back on. What’s done is done, Qatar have failed in Australia, but now the country must look forward. With their host World Cup approaching in two cycles time, Qatar’s focus will now shift to qualification at the end of the year for Russia 2018.
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