Kicking off the knockout stages, the Asian Cup has finally burst into life. While in the group stages, shocks remained confined to the impressive pursuits of China PR, the quarter finals proved less predictable with Iraq and UAE overcoming the odds against the bigger boys of Asian football. Joining them in the last four are hosts Australia and fellow Group A side Korea Republic who overcame China and Uzbekistan respectively. Time for a look back at who made the stories over the last couple of days of action.
“He scores when he wants, he scores when he wants! Oh Timmy Cahill, he scores when he wants!” An apt chant for an Australian hero that once again saved the Socceroos, as the hosts make it through to the semi-finals of the Asian Cup. His two goal haul showed both sides of his game, first a typical header from an unenviable range, his second a master class in technique to put the game to bed and away from a shocked Chinese side who had no answer to his play throughout the encounter.
Tim Cahill’s goal scoring continues to define Australian football, at odds to the vision that manager Ange Postecoglou continues to stress. A fan of neat, flowing football, played on the ground, Cahill’s monstrous aerial ability hasn’t always been the national coach’s cup of tea. On a number of occasions he’s tried to reinvent his attack, using a number of more mobile attackers in place of a typical number 9 figure. However inevitably, he’s always been swayed back to the Australian talisman, most pertinently against Japan in Australia’s final warm up match, climbing off the bench to rescue some pride with a late consolation. Unsurprisingly, Cahill’s place in the starting XI hasn’t been in doubt ever since.
The reliance on one man’s goals has however becoming a worry for some fans, maybe not in the short term but looking forward to the World Cup qualifiers at the end of the year. The oldest player at the Asian Cup, Cahill continues to defy his age by coming up with not just regular goals but skilfully impressive goals. Coming into the tournament, he was the only man to have scored from open play during Postecoglou’s tenure and while the gaining confidence in front of goal of his colleagues has gently improved, Cahill continues to encourage a better quality of finishing from Australia while he’s on the pitch. His menace and ability will once again be crucial as Australia aim to overcome UAE in the semi-finals.
The Team
While many worried (myself included) that the Asian Cup semi-finals would see the same four representatives that had failed so miserably at the last World Cup, along with dark horses UAE, Iraq pulled off the shock of the round as they overcame bitter rivals Iran. One match that will go down in Asian Cup folk law, as the game swung one way then the other, finishing 3-3 after extra time, before Iraq clinched their progression with a thrilling penalty shoot-out victory.
Coming into the tournament, any side on the back of form Iraq had suffered would’ve been written off. However, a favourable group and run of fixtures allowed Iraq to ease themselves into the tournament, building confidence as they played and working out the best setup to adopt under their new coach Radhi Shenaishel. While Iraq have had elements of luck during the tournament, including the late winner v. Jordan and the Pooladi sending off for Iran in the quarters, they have recovered well and progressed on their merits.
The match against Iran was their ideal peak, going behind in the first half, they looked out of ideas and confidence. However, a commanding second half display aided by the sending off, illustrated to everyone what they can possess on their day. Their full backs raced forward continuously, while Shenaishel enabled better support for the lone Mahmood, Iraq looked a more fluid outfit in attacking areas, as they continually threatened the Iranian defence. The one symbol of the shoot-out win however has to be Younes Mahmood, who’d previously missed a “Panenka” style penalty against the Iranians in a warm up match prior to the tournament. The legendary striker again strode up with the same intent, this time sending Haghighi sprawling and Iraq onto victory. They now have a more than realistic chance of making the final, when they face Korea Republic in the semis.
The Talking Point
When the Quarter-Final draw was finally realised, one game stood out as the possible highlight of the tournament. Japan v UAE, the reigning champions vs. the attractive outsiders was billed as one of the ultimate clashes that could have the largest effect on where the title would end up. Some 150 minutes later, UAE were dancing, leaving Japan abject after the match went all the way to penalties, with the Emirati players taking the plaudits for a well-executed game plan from the get go.
A defeat in these set of circumstances is hard to stomach, however Japan’s dominance from early in the match will have many back home scratching their heads about how they snapped defeat away from the jaws of victory. Ever since Ahmed Ali Mabkhout’s early goal, UAE sat deep, inviting pressure and for the most part rarely threatened on the break. In typical Japanese fashion they controlled possession, conjured a number of openings but failed in their pursuit of an equaliser until late on. It takes me back to the late night/early morning encounter of Greece in Natal some 6 months prior, where Japan looked out of ideas, spark and interest despite their clear man for man advantage.
It’s long been the problem for Japan, that no one individual player can step up and seize the day. Keisuke Honda had been impressive during the group stages, but so had his colleagues around him. It seems if Japan have an off the day, the whole squad has an off day. That isn’t confined to those on the pitch, as Javier Aguirre pulled off an Alberto Zaccheroni, hopelessly trying to fling substitutes on from the bench without any real purpose. His future, like his predecessor could be short lived with match-fixing allegations continue to burn his neck, while the history of Japanese football adds another missed opportunity to its record books.
No comments:
Post a Comment