Thu, 28 Oct, 2021
Kuala Lumpur: Syria lured Bernd Stange out of retirement to take the helm of their squad for the AFC Asian Cup UAE 2019, but the veteran German coach is confident the side that narrowly missed out on a place at the 2018 FIFA World Cup Russia can succeed no matter who is sitting on the sidelines.
Stange’s team have been drawn to face Australia – who ended Syria’s hopes of a debut World Cup appearance – Palestine and Jordan in Group B of the 2019 edition of the Continental showpiece, with the Syrians kicking off their campaign against the Palestinians in Sharjah on January 6.
And as they seek to build on the performances that took the country into the play-off phase of qualifying for Russia 2018, Stange stresses the desire to succeed comes from within the playing group.
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Thu, 28 Oct, 2021
Kuala Lumpur: As the 24 teams battle for the Continental crown in January, goals will be the most valuable currency. The-AFC.com kicks off our weekly Asian Cup UAE 2019 series '10 of the Best' with a look at 10 target men whose nations will rely on to deliver the goals.
UAE's Ali Mabkhout nipped the top scorer award in 2015 with five goals. But with the tournament expanded from 16 to 24 teams this time around, the goals race is set to be even more heated. Here are a selection of leading candidates who could take the mantle from the Emirati this January.
Thu, 28 Oct, 2021
Abu Dhabi: As the eyes of the continent turn to the UAE in January, we explore the country through the eyes of expats from across Asia as the AFC Asian Cup UAE 2019 hits the 30 days to go mark.
Adib Nammour arrived to the UAE from Syria 14 years ago, and has since made it his permanent home. In the first episode of this series by Asian expats showcasing their adopted home, we discover Abu Dhabi in Nammour's own words.
Thu, 28 Oct, 2021
Manama: Bahrain national team coach Miroslav Soukup has announced the list of 28 players who will start their preparations for the upcoming AFC Asian Cup UAE 2019.
The Bahrain Football Association (BFA) has set two friendly matches for the national team this month.
The first will be against Tajikistan on December 20, and the second against DPR Korea on December 29. Both matches will be played in Bahrain.
Thu, 28 Oct, 2021
Abu Dhabi: Rising from humble beginnings, the transformation of the AFC Asian Cup is undeniably one of the greatest success stories in modern day football.
Next month’s showpiece is poised to be the biggest and most thrilling edition to date as a record 24 nations land in the UAE in the coming days to compete for Continental glory.
AFC President Shaikh Salman bin Ebrahim Al Khalifa said: “The AFC Asian Cup has grown from strength-to-strength since its first edition in 1956. This is a result of the unity and commitment of the AFC and all our Member Associations working together towards our Vision and Mission to raise the standards of competitions in Asia.”
Thu, 28 Oct, 2021
Kuala Lumpur: After a stellar 2018 AFC Cup campaign, Musa Al Taamari made the switch to Cyprus. In January, he could be Jordan's only Europe-based player.
Having reached the quarter-finals in two of their previous three AFC Asian Cup campaigns, Jordan have big hopes for the 2019 edition, and 20-year-old Al Taamari is the poster boy for the nation's ambitions.
Nationality: Jordan Date of birth: 10/06/1997 Position: Winger Current club: APOEL (Cyprus) Previous clubs: Al Jazeera, Shabab Al Ordon (both in Jordan)
Thu, 28 Oct, 2021
Abu Dhabi: The AFC Asian Cup UAE 2019 is just a month away but the journey to the Continental showpiece started 44 months ago.
The bid to qualify for the biggest and best AFC Asian Cup - which will have an expanded 24 sides vying for glory - saw 46 teams in the fray, beginning with 12 countries in the first round of the Qualifiers back in March 2015.
Six teams then progressed to the second round, and by March of the following year, 12 teams - Saudi Arabia, United Arab Emirates, Australia, Qatar, China PR, Islamic Republic of Iran, Japan, Syria, Thailand, Iraq, Korea Republic and Uzbekistan - had confirmed qualification to UAE 2019 and the final round of qualifying for the 2018 FIFA World Cup Russia.