29/1/2011 - Asian Cup Championship - Australia vs. Japan

I thought I might as well start the Asian Cup Championship thread.

The Age has the Socceroos headlining the front page this time!

http://www.theage.com.au/

Socceroos humiliate Uzbekistan 6-0 to romp into Asian Cup final against Japan

SMH is headlining the Socceroos too but not news.com.au.

The Japan Times actually has some baseball story on their front page!! A major diss to soccer and the Japanese national team!!

http://www.japantimes.co.jp/

Well Baseball is their #2 Sport, after Sumo right?

But I thought the Japanese would care more for the Asian Cup Championship! There is a pretty strong following of football fans in Japan.

There is not even a mention of Japan's victory on Japan Times AT ALL!!

That's disgraceful!

Asian people support the Asian team, not an Oceanian team.

You are probably mistaking the Japan Times for a legitimate news organ that anybody cares about. Trust me, that is not the case at all.

For Asahi news source and Yomiuri news source, Japan's win in PK is on the front page.

Please post those links so we can see how Japan is covering this.

I'm on a cell phone now & can't do it.

Hopefully Cahill is fully fit for this match, along with Holman.

Cool. What paper is that?

I just went to Yomiuri online and I did NOT see anything on Japan's huge win!!

http://www.nikkansports.com/

Interesting to note that in this tournament the top 3 Asian sides S.Korea, Australia, and Japan will have encountered each other. With AUS-KOR and KOR-JPN ending in regular time draws, this could be a foreshadowing of how the final will turn out.

another draw? to be decided on penalties?

thats no way for the finals to be decided, so lets hope one team manages to win properly.

good luck to both Australia and Japan. hoping it will be a great match.

no damp squibs thank you.

Hey aussie guys, how are you?

If you think "we can beat Japan easily!", it would be wrong.

Now, I have to talk about a secret plan.
We have a nefarious machination, the name is "Green Plan".
This top secret plan was planned to defeat aussie team.

I show you a part of this conspiracy now.....

Looking forward to it should be a good game.

No way will Australia beat Japan easily.

Both teams are very even, meaning either side could win it.

If our game v korea is anything to go buy we shouldn't do too badly (as will Japan).

Good luck to both teams, lets keep the trash talk to a minimum and may the best team win (hopefully Australia but I won't be too upset if Japan win - as the new kids on the block we have to realise it may take time to win this thing).

Japan by two goals. Certain arrogant fans need to be humbled and brought back down to earth.

I know the schedule is as tight in Euro Cup, but only 3 days between the matches is just ridiculous. It has to be 4 or 5 days at least.

Australia's defensive line is really solid. Any team has a big trouble to score twice.

I haven't seen anyone that has said that, to be honest. So I'm not sure what the above post is referring to.

Will be close. I can't see Japan giving us as much room as Uzbekistan, nor see them passing the ball aimlessly most of their time in possession.
It could very well be the team that has the better luck on the day.

You certainly seem to want to insult Australians in several posts. Give it a rest. It's not arrogant to want your team to win and to support them. You are better than throwing insults around.

Japan hasn't won Australia for 10 years, if my memory serves right. The aged Australia already peaked but still the quality of their players are out of place for Asia.

For newsflash, two of Japan's key players are injured, so I think Australia has the edge. Cahill is alright.

Is that you persianfootball?

I don't know where you perceive this arrogance to be coming from. The only 'arrogance' I have seen from an Australian supporter was quite obviously a joke that only a fool could mistake for genuine cockiness. All through this tournament the Socceroos fans have been wary and respectful of their opponents (save for Bahrain and India where some confidence in a victory wouldn't have been misplaced). Iraq was a very close game and no one expected or believed it would be otherwise. The result against Uzbekistan surprised us all. I'm certain that all of the Australians on this board aren't taking Japan lightly. Our recent encounters have been close and this time around we will be facing a much improved Japanese team.

As much as you and persianfootball try to find arrogance or cockiness among the Australian posters to suit your vendetta against the Socceroos and Australia, you won't get anywhere.

Anyway, on the game. I think it will be all even at the end of regular time. 3-3 is my pick with one team going on to get a late winner at the end of extra time. May the best team win.

LOL people are always going to say Aussies are arrogant no matter what we say.

Whatever.

Kagawa got injured during Japan-Korea game and today he came under detailed scrutiny in hospital. Test results are not available yet. If he is out ,it will be huge blow for Japan.