I was impressed by Palestine's goalkeeper and captain Ramzi Saleh. Apparently, he dislocated his finger in the game against Afghanistan. Instead of calling for a sub, he had his physiotherapist reset the finger and promptly went back to playing. That is what I call dedication.
Yes I do hope none of the bigger nations make excuses, as the countries are quite capable. Afghanistan hosted Pakistan only last year without any problems. Overall, all lower tier nations should be allowed to play at home, that is a big advantage. Imagine China playing Maldives in Maldives, it will be a totally different game.. Looking forward to new era in Asian football!
My predictions are: Palestine 2-2 Philippines with Palestine wining in extra time Maldives 3-1 Afghanistan Afghan team lost all confidence and Maldives wont let their fans down
Laos played China at home back in 2011 and Thim Xad would have won 2-0 if a football match lasted 20 instead of 90 minutes.
This match looks rather pointless. The players look half-hearted and the fans are clearly not taking it seriously.
Fun fact: This was Maldives first ever penalty shootout victory. They lost all three of their previous shootouts: Year: 2000 Match: Golden Jubilee Invitational Football Tournament - Final Opponent: Sri Lanka Year: 2003 Match: SAFF Championship - Final Opponent: Bangladesh Year: 2009 Match: SAFF Championship - Final Opponent: India Extraordinarily, goalkeeper Imran Mohamed has been involved in all our penalty shootouts.
Seid ihr heute Rot oder Weiß? Who of you support the Philippines, and who support Palestine? I think I'm red today; Palestine for the win!
It is going to be a first time in the Asian Cup for either team if they win this competition, so it is going to big.
Both teams are constantly playing in a way that you start to think: "Yeah, these are really good teams. I see this kind of play all over the World Cup." And then they do something and you think: "No, wait. That conclusion was way too rash..."
Palestine could have been ahead a couple of goals already. Thank God for Muller, the great equalizer. Phil Younghusband could have finished a few of his chances though. He is usually pretty clinical in the final third.
looked like there could of been a penalty and red card on the keeper there, Philippines lucky to go in level... pitch does not look like it's in good condition... how many games has it hosted not though, 9-10 games in less than two weeks?