Asian Cup 2007
Asian Cup - final group matches
Group A matches
Late flurry saves Aussies (Thailand 0 Australia 4) |
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Group B matches
in Vietnam
Japan show their strength (Vietnam 1 Japan 4)
Japan came from behind to overpower group hosts Vietnam. The Vietnamese got off to a perfect start when a corner kick came of Suzuki for an own goal, but 5 minutes later Maki chested the ball over the line to level the score. Endu rifled the ball in from a free kick in the 31st minute, and after some confident passes by the Japanese in the 52nd minute the ball reached Nakamura who picked the top left corner from outside the box. Maki scored the 4th when he met a free kick at the far post with a header in the 59 minute. Despite a heavy defeat, Vietnam were able to celebrate when the result from the other match in group B confirmed their progress to the next round.
Hosts celebrate UAE win (UAE 2 Qatar 1)
The UAE did their group-hosts a big favour by halting the progress of Qatar. Sebastian Quintana put Qatar ahead with his 3rd goal of the tournament when he thumped in a penalty kick 3 minutes before the break. Saeed Alkas rose high to head the ball past Saqr in the Qatar goal a minute before the hour-mark. In the last minute of the match, Saqr could only parry a fierce free-kick from Matar into the path of the onrushing Faisal Khalil who obliged with a header that sent the Vietnamese crowd into raptures.
Group C matches
in Malaysia
China crumble under Uzbek power (Uzbekistan 3 China 0)
China go crashing out of the Asian Cup losing to Uzbekistan in a match they needed to draw. China started the match positively and came close when Wang Dong struck the underside of the crossbar from close-range in the second half, but it was Maksim Shatskikh who scored with a header when he connected to a free-kick from Victor Karpenko in the 72nd minute. Four minutes from time Karpenko curled in another free-kick that was turned in by Kapadze, and deep into injury time Geynrikh completed the misery for China when he fired past the keeper after his free-kick had been blocked by the wall.
Struggling Iran top group (Malaysia 0 Iran)
Some resolute defending by Malaysia and poor finishing on a wet surface kept the score down. Iran could have scored twice in the first 10 minutes but Hashemian failed to convert from close range, and Enayati saw his effort come off the post. A well-taken Nekounam penalty gave Iran the lead which despite their dominance was not extended until Andranik Teymourian drilled the ball past the keeper in the 77th minute. The win gives Iran top spot ahead of Uzbekistan.
Group D matches
in Indonesia
Saudis reach peak (Saudi Arabia 4 Bahrain 0)
Saudi Arabia topped their group with an emphatic win over Bahrain. In the early stages of the match, Bahrain - who needed to win - seemed the better side, but a defensive slip in the 17th minute gifted Ahmed Al Mousa an easy goal for Saudi Arabia who doubled their lead in first half stoppage time when Alhawsawi breached the Bahraini defence and delivered a low ball across the face of goal for a tap-in by Abdulrahman Al Qahtani. Taisir Al Jassim sewed the ball into the back of the net from outside the area in the 68th minute and coolly finished off Bahrain with his second of the night after some confident passing by his team-mates in the 80th minute.
Koreans scrape through (Indonesia 0 South Korea 1 )
A single goal in front of a packed stadium broke Indonesian hearts and saw South Korea scrape through to the next round. The goal came in the 33rd minute when Kim Jung-woo beat Markus Rihihina with the aid of a slight deflection. The Koreans came close to wrapping the match up in the second half, but will be happy with the narrow win that sees them through to the quarter-finals.