Qatar carved out a piece of footballing history for themselves on Friday, winning the AFC Asian Cup for the first time in a 3-1 upset win over four-time winners Japan in Abu Dhabi, UAE .
It’s all over. Qatar lifted the 2019 Asian Cup on Friday, defeating Japan 3-1 in the final, and will be almost as proud at dominating ESPN’s team of the tournament.
Here are our 11 best performers from Asia’s premier tournament:
GK: Alireza Beiranvand (Iran)
The Iranian goalkeeper impressed at the 2018 World Cup and in the 2018 AFC Champions League and carried on where he left off in 2019. The highlight of the tournament was a second-minute penalty save against Oman in the second round. The No….
The transfer window may still be open in parts of Asia, but with the New Year holiday approaching in much of the continent, many deals have been done. ESPNFC takes a look at some of the most significant.
Marouane Fellaini (Manchester United, England) to Shandong Luneng, China)
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Despite the wild stories of Marko Arnautovic leaving West Ham for an unnamed Chinese Super League club, this has been a relatively quiet window in China. The biggest move came late January with the Belgian star leaving Manchester…
When Qatar won the right to host the 2022 World Cup just over eight years ago, there were accusations from certain parts of the globe that this was a country with little to no football history. In truth, the feeling was the same in much of Asia. That can’t be said any more as the team amazingly defeated Japan 3-1 in the final of the 2019 Asian Cup on Friday in Abu Dhabi, becoming continental champions for the first time and in their first-ever final appearance.
To be fair, it was fully deserved…
Japan booked their place in the final of the Asian Cup with a 3-0 semi-final win over Iran.
Qatar cruise to the AFC Asian Cup final for the first time with a comfortable 4-0 win over the United Arab Emirates.
The last time Borussia Dor…
Qatar booked their place in the AFC Asian Cup semifinals with a 1-0 win over Son Heung-Min’s South Korea.
Son Heung-min cut a forlorn figure in Abu Dhabi on Friday evening as South Korea crashed out of the Asian Cup after a 1-0 loss to Qatar at the quarterfinal stage. He may be happy to get back to Tottenham Hotspur where his return will be cheered almost as much as the result was in Doha..
It was a tired performance from the Taeguk Warriors and a tired performance from the team’s talisman as he admitted after the game.
“I wasn’t properly prepared. I was physically drained,” Son, who had previously…
Kim Jin-Su’s goal in extra time would send South Korea 2-1 past Bahrain and into the AFC Asian Cup quarterfinals.
Son-Heung min set up both goals as South Korea overcame China 2-0, with both teams still booking their place in the Round of 16.
Son Heung-min cannot thank Tottenham enough for allowing him to play in the 2018 Asian Games. Tottenham forward Son Heung-Min has played down fears that his recent schedule will catch up with him as the games come thick and fast for South Korea at the Asian Cup.
Spurs, third in the Premier League and still competing in the Champions League, FA Cup and Carabao Cup, have been hit by injuries to Harry Kane and Dele Alli as well as Son’s departure for the Asian Cup.
Son, who also appeared at the World Cup in June and the Asian Games in Indonesia in August, arrived in Abu Dhabi on Jan. 14, less…
Ali Adnan sealed a 3-2 win for Iraq over Vietnam in the Asian Cup in dramatic fashion, by netting a sublime 90th minute free-kick.
Mat Ryan saved two spot kicks in a penalty shootout against Uzbekistan in the Asian Cup round of 16, after the game finished 0-0.
Son-Heung min set up both goals as South Korea overcame China 2-0, with both teams still booking their place in the Round of 16.
After failing to find the all-important winning goal against Jordan, Palestine must wait to find out their Asia Cup fate.
Tom Rogic’s injury-time winner over Syria confirmed Australia’s place in the Asia Cup knockout rounds.
After an opening Asia Cup defeat to Jordan, Australia looked much more comfortable in a 3-0 win against Palestine.
Uzbekistan prevailed 2-1 over Oman in their 2019 AFC Asian Cup opener courtesy of Eldor Shomurodov’s late winner.
Ritsu Doan added to Yuya Osaka’s two goals to ensure Asian Cup favourites Japan kicked off their tournament with a 3-2 win.
It feels like more than a month since Vietnam were lifting the 2018 AFF Suzuki Cup to be crowned Southeast Asia’s best.
The celebrations in Hanoi after the final win over Malaysia in December were something to be seen, but there could be more to come. On Sunday, the Golden Stars defeated Jordan on penalties to move into the last eight of the 2019 Asian Cup. A showdown now awaits with heavyweights Japan on Thursday. An upset couldn’t happen, could it?
To defeat the Samurai Blue would probably be…
Tom Rogic’s injury-time winner over Syria confirmed Australia’s place in the Asia Cup knockout rounds.
Australia made it through but had to dig deep.
The group stage of the 2019 Asian Cup is over, but there have been plenty of talking points from the competition so far. Here are five things you may have missed.
Champions Australia stumble but big boys stroll through
At the end of Australia’s opening game defeat to Jordan, the dry desert air was abuzz with talk of an upset. Could the champions, with their injuries and seeming underestimation of their group rivals, be heading for an early exit?
However, when only eight teams out of 24 are eliminated…
Son-Heung min set up both goals as South Korea overcame China 2-0, with both teams still booking their place in the Round of 16.
After failing to find the all-important winning goal against Jordan, Palestine must wait to find out their Asia Cup fate.
Tom Rogic’s injury-time winner over Syria confirmed Australia’s place in the Asia Cup knockout rounds.
After an opening Asia Cup defeat to Jordan, Australia looked much more comfortable in a 3-0 win against Palestine.
Uzbekistan prevailed 2-1 over Oman in their 2019 AFC Asian Cup opener courtesy of Eldor Shomurodov’s late winner.
South Korea have Son Heung-min, and China have Wu Lei. The two may not be at the same level in terms of talent or renown, but the Chinese attacker is as important to Marcello Lippi’s side as Son is to Paulo Bento’s. This was made all the more clear on Wednesday when the teams met in their final group game at the Asian Cup.
The Chinese were always going to find it tough against South Korea in Abu Dhabi. But without Wu — sidelined by a shoulder injury — it was almost mission impossible as they sank…
After failing to find the all-important winning goal against Jordan, Palestine must wait to find out their Asia Cup fate.
Tom Rogic’s injury-time winner over Syria confirmed Australia’s place in the Asia Cup knockout rounds.
After an opening Asia Cup defeat to Jordan, Australia looked much more comfortable in a 3-0 win against Palestine.
Uzbekistan prevailed 2-1 over Oman in their 2019 AFC Asian Cup opener courtesy of Eldor Shomurodov’s late winner.
Ritsu Doan added to Yuya Osaka’s two goals to ensure Asian Cup favourites Japan kicked off their tournament with a 3-2 win.
Japan’s J League started in 1993. At the same time, the national team was doing well in qualification for the 1994 World Cup and what would be a first appearance on the global stage. Going into the final game against Iraq in Qatar, the Samurai Blue just had to win to book their ticket. The goal was duly scored, and at halftime the team’s Dutch coach, Hans Ooft, wrote “45 minutes to the World Cup” on the whiteboard in the dressing room. Iraq equalised soon after the break, but Japan restored their…