Archives
December 2013(3)
June 2013(3)
May 2013(2)
February 2013(1)
January 2013(2)
November 2012(1)
September 2012(1)
January 2012(1)
December 2011(3)
October 2011(1)
September 2011(1)
August 2011(3)
March 2011(2)
February 2011(1)
December 2010(1)
August 2010(1)
July 2010(3)
June 2010(7)
May 2010(5)
April 2010(4)
March 2010(5)
February 2010(4)
January 2010(7)
December 2009(8)
November 2009(14)
October 2009(11)
September 2009(12)
August 2009(10)
July 2009(13)
June 2009(16)
May 2009(15)
April 2009(14)
March 2009(13)
February 2009(11)
January 2009(15)
December 2008(12)
November 2008(13)
October 2008(15)
September 2008(14)
August 2008(15)
July 2008(12)
June 2008(21)
May 2008(18)
April 2008(14)
March 2008(19)
February 2008(11)
January 2008(19)
December 2007(11)
November 2007(13)
October 2007(13)
September 2007(18)
August 2007(12)
July 2007(20)
June 2007(16)
May 2007(18)
April 2007(15)
March 2007(24)
February 2007(11)
January 2007(15)
December 2006(15)
November 2006(18)
October 2006(15)
September 2006(13)
August 2006(14)
July 2006(15)
June 2006(17)
May 2006(3)
Categories
Africa(1)
Christianity(7)
Cricket(122)
F1(100)
Football(184)
General(8)
Health(1)
Melbourne(51)
Politics(5)
Television(19)
Tennis(132)
Zimbabwe(63)
Recent Postings
Socceroos drawn in tough group
All set for World Cup draw
Mandela dies
Mugabe announces election date
Kewell joins Melbourne Heart
Recent Comments
Hugo on Eurosport beams Nations Cup matches: Really hoping Nigeria do well in this tournament b ...
Delivery Hero on England, France paired in Euro 2012: Can't wait for Euro 2012! ...
Wes on 2011/12 English Premiership Preview: Thanks Sybil, I think Man City cannot easily be di ...
Wes on 2011/12 English Premiership Preview: Thanks Bambo for the comment. I think its going to ...
Phil on 2011/12 English Premiership Preview: Good post, this looks like a very unpredictable se ...
Blogroll
BBC Blog Network
authorblog
mattheaton.com
Football Down Under
Dave's World
F1 Fanatic
Full Time Analysis
Owalog
Counter Steer
2007 Asian Cup preview
The 2007 AFC Asian Cup kicks-off on Saturday the 7th of June with Thailand playing Iraq and I can't wait to see how the Socceroos will fare in the first tournament they will play since exiting the 2006 World Cup in the second round.
When the draw was for the tournament was made in December last year I wrote of a review of the Australia's group and I thought that the Socceroos would top their group ahead of Iraq and I still think that will be the case.
There hasn't been much to tell from the friendlies that has taken place since that time and also sometimes its not good to read too much into friendlies but they can give you a rough guideline on what to expect.
Looking briefly at the other groups, Group B should be one of the most interesting groups. I think Japan should be able to top that group but beyond that its very hard to tell who will join them in the quarter-finals.
Qatar have slowly built up a good domestic league with some veteran players from the European leagues coming to join their teams and that has certainly helped some of the local players. UAE is also a good team with lots of experience and its hard to tell who will progress between the two teams.
Unfortunately the host Vietnam is not that strong and I don't expect them to progress. I could say that for all the hosts and I will be very surprised if any of the hosts can make it to the next round. This may not be very good for the locals but I think it will be helped by having four hosts instead of one.
In Group C, previous hosts and finalists China should fight it out for top position with Iran. I would think that Iran, my favourites to reach the final would beat China who looked less than convincing recently against the Socceroos and also this week against Melbourne Victory despite the 1 nil win.
Finally in group D, on paper Korea Republic should have an edge over the other three countries and Saudi Arabia would to me come a close second. I also think that Bahrain are capable of causing a surprise or two but they will have to play a lot better than they did in qualifying for the tournament if they are thinking of staying beyond the first round.
As the matches are played, I have to remember to enter my tips in
TipsChallenge and see if I can top the league at the end of the tournament.
I think it would have been more interesting if the hosts at this tournament had been more powerful football-wise, but ah well that's beside the point.
This tournament is between Japan and Australia more or less. Japan could have an edge because of their experience in the competition but I am disappointed with South Korea.
South Korea reached their peak with Hiddink and after that I don't think they have really managed to put a good side despite now having better players like Park etc. I am keen to see how they go.
reply
Nick, I wouldn't discount Korea Republic at this stage and yes reaching the World Cup semis was quite a high for them but I think they can challenge for the crown here should they have a bit of lucky.
reply
I was very keen to follow in this year's Asian Cup but I have realised that all the matches are exclusively on FoxSports including the final. I imagine if the Socceroos reach the final and I cannot watch them on free to air, surely that won't be good.
Nevertheless, I think the Socceroos will be too strong in their group and should be able to bring the cup home.
reply
I agree it wouldn't look good if the Socceroos were to reach the final and possibly win it and the match is not available on free to air. But it would be interesting to know if there is any other team in this tournament whose matches are also exclusively on pay TV.
reply