ASEAN and East Asia Domestic Wrap: Melbourne City close gap

Thu, 28 Oct, 2021

ASEAN and East Asia Domestic Wrap: Melbourne City close gap

Kuala Lumpur: With runaway A-League leaders Sydney FC not in action at the weekend, second-placed Melbourne City narrowed the gap to eight points and left Newcastle Jets looking increasingly stranded at the foot of the table. 

Elsewhere in ASEAN, Yangon United and Hantharwady United are the early pacesetters in Myanmar as they maintained their 100 percent records at the start of the season.

In East Asia, meanwhile, there was league action in Hong Kong and Guam, so join the-AFC.com as we review the latest round of fixtures across the two zones.

South Asia Domestic Wrap: ATK lead ISL, Mohun Bagan open six-point gap in I-League

Thu, 28 Oct, 2021

South Asia Domestic Wrap: ATK lead ISL, Mohun Bagan open six-point gap in I-League

Mumbai: ATK defeated Goa 2-0 in a top-of-the-table clash on Saturday to take a share of the lead in the Indian Super League.

Mohun Bagan, meanwhile, edged east Bengal 2-1 to open a six-point lead at the top of the I-League while in Maldives, Maziya continue to dominate the Dhivehi Premier League.

Join the-AFC.com as we review the domestic action in South Asia in the week gone by.

Australia's versatility impresses Arnold

Thu, 28 Oct, 2021

Australia's versatility impresses Arnold

Bangkok: Australia head coach Graham Arnold hailed his players for their ability to adapt to tactical changes in their AFC U23 Championship Thailand 2020 quarter-final win against Syria on Saturday.

Regulation time failed to break the deadlock and it took a moment of magic from substitute Al Hassan Toure in the 102nd minute for the Olyroos to claim a 1-0 victory to advance to their first AFC U23 Championship semi-finals.

Arnold, who also manages the Socceroos, acknowledged the difficulty his side faced and revealed he was forced to make several strategic adjustments through the 120 minutes and praised his players for their ability to adapt.

Australia’s Gersbach determined to fulfil his Olympic dream 

Thu, 28 Oct, 2021

Australia’s Gersbach determined to fulfil his Olympic dream 

Bangkok: Alex Gersbach is hoping to be third time lucky as Australia prepare for their AFC U23 Championship Thailand 2020 quarter-final against Syria at the Rajamangala Stadium on Saturday.

Australia’s skipper is playing in the AFC U23 Championship for the third time but the knockout stage is uncharted territory for Gersbach and he is hoping it will be a journey which will end with the title as well as a place in the 2020 Tokyo Olympics.

Park: Vietnam's exit is down to me

Thu, 28 Oct, 2021

Park: Vietnam's exit is down to me

Bangkok: Head coach Park Hang-seo accepted full responsibility for Vietnam’s exit from the AFC U23 Championship Thailand 2020 on Thursday as the runners-up two years ago suffered a 2-1 loss in their final Group D meeting with DPR Korea at Rajamangala Stadium.

Vietnam, who lost in the final to Uzbekistan in China in 2018, finished bottom of the group as the United Arab Emirates and Jordan advanced to the last eight while Park’s side ended the tournament with only one goal to show for their efforts across their three games.

Nishino urges Thailand players to continue working hard

Thu, 28 Oct, 2021

Nishino urges Thailand players to continue working hard

Bangkok: Hosts Thailand bowed out of the AFC U23 Championship Thailand 2020 on Saturday with head coach Akira Nishino looking to the future after seeing his side slip to a narrow 1-0 defeat at the hands of Saudi Arabia.

A packed-out Thammasat Stadium roared Nishino’s team on against Saad Al Shehri’s side, but in the end a 78th minute penalty from Abdullah Al Hamdan was enough to take the West Asian nation into the last four and break Thai hearts.

Thailand were making their first-ever appearance in the knockout phase of the competition and Nishino was hopeful that Thai football would learn from their involvement in the latter stages of the tournament.

Thailand 2020 fan zones a major hit with fans and sponsors

Thu, 28 Oct, 2021

Thailand 2020 fan zones a major hit with fans and sponsors

Bangkok: With the AFC U23 Thailand Championship nearing its thrilling knockout stages, the exciting build-up has been underlined both on and off the pitch with thousands of fans participating in a wide range of exciting activations.

Finding their way into the hearts of thousands of supporters in Thailand are the competition’s two fan zones at the Rajamangala Stadium and Thammasat Stadium in the country’s capital of Bangkok, which has been designed to unleash the passion for football and to celebrate Asia’s stars of tomorrow.