Group A: China Qatar Indonisia Bahrain Group B: Korea Kuwait UAE JOrdan Group c: Saudi Iraq Uzbekestan Turmenistan Group d: Japan Iran Thailand Oman prediction: Group A: China Bahrain Group B: Korea Jordan Group C:Saudi Uzbekistan Group d: Japan Iran
Group A: China, Bahrain, Indonesia, Qatar Group B: S Korea, Jordan, UAE, Kuwait Group C: Saudi A, Turkmenistan, Uzbekistan, Iraq Group D: Japan, Iran, Oman, Thailand
yazz, freaky huh As for my assessments of the groups: Group A: China and Bahrain should qualify, but Qatar has an annoying talent for 0-0 draws, so they might sneak it. Group B: The easiest IMO. Korea shouldn't face a problem beating any of the three. For second place, I think Jordan might do it. Group C: Saudi and Iraq to qualify, but you never know what to expect with those central asian states. Group D: Group of Death. Japan and Iran are favourites, but Oman are a team to watch out for, and Thailand isn't easy either. Any team in this group would easily qualify if they were in group B.
I think the group of death is group c its going to be very tough, but i think its at the end its going to be Saudi and Uzbek but as i said its a close group group a china+bahrain group b korea and jordan group c sauid and Uzbek group d Japan and Iran but oman are going to cause some trouble
FIRST ROUND Sat, July 17 Beijing - Opening Ceremony, 18:30 Beijing - Group A: China v Bahrain, 20:00 (1) Sun, July 18 Beijing - Group A: Qatar v Indonesia, 17:00 (2) Chengdu - Group C: Saudi Arabia v Turkmenistan, 18:45 (3) Chengdu - Group C: Iraq v Uzbekistan, 21:45 (4) Mon, July 19 Jinan - Group B: Korea Rep v Jordan, 18:30 (5) Jinan - Group B: Kuwait v United Arab Emirates, 21:00 (6) Tue, July 20 Chongqing - Group D: Japan v Oman, 18:00 (7) Chongqing - Group D: Iran v Thailand, 20:30 (8) Wed, July 21 Beijing - Group A: Bahrain v Qatar, 18:30 (9) Beijing - Group A: Indonesia v China, 21:00 (10) Thu, July 22 Chengdu - Group C: Turkmenistan v Iraq, 18:30 (11) Chengdu - Group C: Uzbekistan v Saudi Arabia, 21:00 (12) Fri, July 23 Jinan - Group B: Jordan v Kuwait, 18:30 (13) Jinan - Group B: United Arab Emirates v Korea Rep, 21:00 (14) Sat, July 24 Chongqing - Group D: Oman v Iran, 18:00 (15) Chongqing - Group D: Thailand v Japan, 20:30 (16) Sun, July 25 Beijing - Group A: China v Qatar, 19:00 (17) Jinan - Group A: Bahrain v Indonesia, 19:00 (18) Mon, July 26 Chengdu - Group C: Saudi Arabia v Iraq, 19:00 (19) Chongqing - Group C: Turkmenistan v Uzbekistan, 19:00 (20) Tue, July 27 Jinan - Group B: Korea Rep v Kuwait, 19:00 (21) Beijing - Group B: Jordan v United Arab Emirates, 19:00 (22) Wed, July 28 Chongqing - Group A: Japan v Iran, 19:00 (23) Chengdu - Group C: Oman v Thailand, 19:00 (24) QUARTER-FINALS Fri, July 30 Beijing - 1st Gp A v 2nd Gp C, 21:00 (25) Chengdu - 1st Gp C v 2nd Gp A, 18:00 (26) Sat, July 31 Jinan - 1st Gp B v 2nd Gp D, 21:00 (27) Chongqing - 1st Gp D v 2nd Gp B, 18:00 (28) SEMI-FINALS Tue, August 3 Beijing - Winner (25) v Winner (27), 21:00 (29) Jinan - Winner (26) v Winner (28), 18:00 (30) 3rd/4th PLACE Fri, August 6 Beijing - Loser (29) v Loser (30), 20:00 FINAL Sat, August 7 Beijing - Winner (29) v Winner (30), 20:00
In my view that group was made in heaven for Iran and Japan, when they both get past it they wont see each other until the Final. I dont think saudi has what it takes to win the cup. My adopted teams will be: Group 1: Bahrain Group 2: Kuwait Group 3: Saudi and Iraq Group 4: Iran and Oman one last question, Fileppan did not answer the presenter question about why saudi was placed in group C and China in A etc, when he drew saudi first, then china. He said he will answer it after the Asian cup.
I'm going to support west asian teams coz they have more raw talent than the east asians i don't like east asians football teams. But i don't know about central Asia (Uzbek and turkmanestan) but i prefer them to east asian teams. So lets hope Iran will do well, coz its the strongest west asian team (even though they hate arab football teams). We don't want east asia to take the cup
SB, Chengdu doesn't sound like a bad place. Apparently, it's the most relaxed and pleasant of China's major cities. It's famous for it's tea houses, and spicy food (it's the capital of Szichuan), so it's perfect for our players
I think Korea will face a hard time playing against Kuwait. Kuwait is one of only two nations in Asia who has been predominant over the records against Korea. For reference, vs Nepal 7W vs Taiwan 13W 1D 6L vs Laos 3W vs Lebanon 4W vs Malaysia 24W 12D 8L vs Miyanma 13W 7D 5L vs Syria 1W 1L vs KSA 3W 5D 3L vs Japan 38W 18D 11L vs Iraq 4W 9D 2L vs Iran 7W 3D 6L vs Indonesia 32W 4D 2L vs India 13W 1D 3L vs Israel 5W 4D 2L vs UAE 6W 5D 2L vs Oman 2W 1L vs China 15W 10D vs Kuwait 5W 3D 8L vs Qatar 2W 1D 1L vs Thailand 30W 7D 6L vs N. Korea 5W 2D 1L vs Hongkong 21W 5D 4L vs Turkmenistan 1L vs Uzbekisatan 2W 1L vs Vietnam 13W 6D 2L vs Bahrain 8W 3D 1L vs Kazahstan 1W 1D
how can the mighty japan be in the group of death in any tournament within asia where they have no true competition at all? it seems to me oman is destined to get schooled by us throughout the year. japan won't be caused trouble by any of their opponents . to me group b is the group of death as 4 of them have the same level of skill. group a will be the next toughtest one. lucky saudi got a good draw but probably they will be knocked out by us in quater final.
Best Draw for IRAN! I LOVE our group. All the teams in our group have bad head to head records against Iran. Thailand has NEVER beaten Iran b4 where as we have beaten them by 3 goals a lot of times. Iran allways outplays Japan for some reason and we have beaten them so many times but usually when japan beats iran they almost always get a lucky win only by a 1 goal margin. Oman has only beaten us once(4-2 in 96) but that proved to be a lucky win because the next time we played we beat them 5-2 plus we had beaten them so many times b4. Now the only reason i say oman will be the toughest is because they are an arab team and they have improved a lot lately and plus we play much better against east asians than west asians. AHHHHHH screw it they will all be pushovers. LOL We are gonna top our group trust me this group is ezzzzzzzzzzzzzzz HAHA hama Your mighty japan is first gonna get bitchslapped 3-0 by Iran and then lose 2-1 to Oman. It's nice how you get to face oman twice maybe after they teach you a lesson here you can fire your coach and get ready for WCQ's against them. Hmm about the korean head to head records: I thought Iran and korea were tied in the head to head records 7W for Iran 7W for Korea and 3D probably the closest rivalry in asia. I can't belive japan's head to head records against korea is so low. I don't remember any asian team having a good head to head record against Iran. anyways here is my prediction Group A: Bahrain China( I think Bahrain will beat china and top this group) Group B: Korea JOrdan(Jordan is not that strong but since kuwait's weak performence during the GC i think they will go to the next round) Group c: Iraq Saudi( I think Iraq will be the suprise team of the tournement) Group d: Iran Japan(japan gets lucky as oman loses to thailand)
Japan Could Be in Trouble! I highly doubt that they will be even able to get a tie against Iran, and if Thailand manages to draw against Japan, then Japan days in AC could be very short lived. Group A: China and Qatar Group B: Korea and UAE Group C: S. Arabia and Uzbakestan (Iraq is not quite there yet) Group D: IRAN and Japan/Thailand Here We Come, Here We Rock
Re: Japan Could Be in Trouble! Japan's Record/W-T-L (1985 - 2004) vs Iran 3-3-3 vs Thailand 2-1-1 vs Oman 1-1-0 Japan's Record/W-T-L (1997 - 2004) vs Iran 1-1-0 vs Thailand 1-1-0 vs Oman 1-1-0 Conclusion: Japan used to suck before 1997, but as Hama-chan says [mighty] Japan shouldn't have any problem winning the group [of dead] in 2004. Only team that could be competitive vs Japan is Korea Rep.
Re: Re: Japan Could Be in Trouble! even after 97, Japan's record against the other 3 teams doesn't look too impressive.
Japan got screwed with the pairings. That is a tough group, but seeing as how they played superior competition all year long in 03, they shouldn't have trouble making the next rd.
Hopefully, the final will be between South Korea and Iran. But with Coehlo navigating the Korean ship, who knows what the hell's gonna happen to our team.
head to head records?... my god..... ‚h am just stunned to find out how badly the people in this forum misunderstand the power relationships of Asian football. Just watch the game between Japan and Oman next month, and you will have a clear idea of who will be a three-time champion (out of 4 recent tournaments) of Asia Cup.
Re: head to head records?... my god..... You're right there , just wait and see Saudi reassert their dominance with their 4th cup, and 6th consecutive final appearance, out of 6 tournaments participated in.
Re: head to head records?... my god..... Since when did Oman becaome asia's benchmark for the asian cup? Japan is a pwerhouse in asian soccer, u guys dont need to prove anything against Oman. Oman, I think will be going all out to see if they can pull another surprise.
kamikaze, let the weaklings such as iran, saudi, and korea a moment to bark and make excuse. eventually they all have to shut up so don't be harsh upon these little orphans for now. as for iran and korea, i highly doubt if they can go through to the next round, but suppose they somehow make it to at least semi-final, that's what i call miracle and we all appreciate an unexpected run from an unexpected team in a tournament.
Group A: China Qatar Indonisia Bahrain China 1st and toss-up 2nd between Indonesia and Bahrain. China is as closest as Indonesians can get from their home in major tournaments. They won't go out that easily this time. Group B: Korea Kuwait UAE JOrdan Korea and Kuwait. I wouldn't discount Kuwait based on Gulf Cup results. They recently hired a quality coach from Brazil and by the time the tournament starts, Kuwait will be back. Jordan can be the dark horse, they are the only team in M.E. who have improved during last 4 years. Group c: Saudi Iraq Uzbekestan Turmenistan Saudi for sure and a fight among remaining three. Group d: Japan Iran Thailand Oman Japan and Iran. I used to regard Iran as the most formidable contender in Asia and still am but their performance since 2000 has been extremely inconsistent, ultimately making me conclude they're not the champion material. at least this time around especially when the tourney is held in East Asia. This is like 2nd time in 30 some years the Cup is being held in E.Asia. The champions will be either Korea or Japan, and China among top-4.