Thu, 28 Oct, 2021
Kuala Lumpur: The five Asian nations at the 2018 FIFA World Cup concluded their participation with a record points tally. Five experts review their respective teams performances in Russia.
Our five-man panel had shared their pre-tournament thoughts on their countries’ chances and how they saw things potentially playing out. Now they reflect on those performances and look ahead to the 2019 AFC Asian Cup.
The Panel members are Sebastian Hasset from Australia, Pejman Rahbar from IR Iran, Etsuko Motokawa from Japan, Seo Ho-jung from Korea Republic and Atef Nahass from Saudi Arabia.
www.the-afc.com/en/more/photo/japans_maya_yoshida_vies_with_belgiums_romelu_lukaku.html
Tue, 30 Nov, -0001
Kuala Lumpur: As the 2018 FIFA World Cup draws to a close, football takes a short break in the upcoming weeks until the return of the AFC Champions League, AFC Cup and domestic leagues.
So, what better time than now to kick off a new season of the-AFC.com’s Asian Football Trivia segment - our weekly question-based series that allows you, the fans, to send us your questions on anything and everything related to Asian football?
Week one begins with three tricky in-house questions, and we invite you to follow suit and send us your queries via the AFC’s social media platforms in the coming days and weeks.
Thu, 28 Oct, 2021
Kuala Lumpur: Australia’s new head coach Graham Arnold will lead the Socceroos to defend their AFC Asian Cup title, believing that he can end their goalscoring woes on the back of an early exit from the 2018 FIFA World Cup Russia.
Australia suffered defeats against France and Peru, and drew 1-1 with Peru, ending their Russia 2018 campaign at the bottom of Group C.
Replacing Bert van Marwijk immediately after the World Cup, Arnold anticipates a better performance now that he is at the helm for the 2019 AFC Asian Cup next January in the United Arab Emirates, revealing that he would first tackle the psychology of his players.
“A lot of it these days is about the mind and what the mind tells you,” said the former Sydney FC head coach.
“I think that’s the big improvement that you’ve seen in England. A lot of the top sides now use sports psychologists for the players; there’s a lot of negativity in social media around players and what they read. It can affect people.”
Thu, 28 Oct, 2021
Doha: Qatar will play three international friendly matches as part of their preparation for the AFC Asian Cup UAE 2019 to be held in January.
Qatar will take on China in the first friendly game on September 7 at Khalifa International Stadium, followed by a friendly against Palestine on September 17. The third game will be played against Ecuador on October 2.
Currently, Qatar are undergoing intensive training programme in Austria, and head coach Felix Sanchez believes the team has benefitted from the camp.
“The team atmosphere is very positive and an enjoyable one,” said Sanchez, and added: “Things are developing as planned. The players have responded well to my plans
“There are fitness drills and then there is football action in double training sessions. This is a great opportunity to build the right momentum moving forward.
Thu, 28 Oct, 2021
Doha: In four years' time, Qatar's Khalifa International Stadium will host a FIFA World Cup quarter-final, and on Tuesday, local fans had a glimpse of what lies in wait.
Some 4,500 people packed out the stadium's fan zone as it showed France beating Belgium 1-0 in the 2018 FIFA World Cup semi-final in Russia, knowing that the clock is ticking for Qatar's World Cup in 2022.
Thu, 28 Oct, 2021
Issue 23
“The AFC Quarterly is the confederation's latest effort to reach out to the millions of passionate fans of Asian football and put on splendid display the game’s glorious achievements,” said AFC Acting President Zhang Jilong. “The biggest endeavour of this magazine is to make household names of our players and put the spotlight on our many competitions, which produce countless moments of top-notch football entertainment.”AFC Player of the Year Lee Keun-ho from Korea Republic is the cover star of the inaugural edition, which also features interviews with 2007 AFC Asian Cup winning striker Younus Mahmood, Olympic bronze medal-winning coach Hong Myung-bo, and Uzbek legend Mirdjalal Kasimov.
Thu, 28 Oct, 2021
Kuala Lumpur: Nearly two decades after the UAE reached their only AFC Asian Cup final at home in 1996, a new generation delivered the Whites best-ever performance on foreign soil. Ali Mabkhout remembers Australia 2015 where he spearheaded the attack for the bronze medallists.
Going into the 2015 AFC Asian Cup, Omar Abdulrahman was the UAE’s most recognisable face, and he boosted his reputation as one of Asia’s finest players with a string of top performances Down Under, but arguably the biggest winner from the team’s run to the semi-finals was the then 25-year-old Mabkhout.