Urawa, Al Ittihad discover route to glory

Tue, 05 Sep, 2023

Urawa, Al Ittihad discover route to glory

Jeddah: Urawa Red Diamonds could play European champions Manchester City in the semi-finals of the FIFA Club World Cup Saudi Arabia 2023 following the official draw in Jeddah on Tuesday.

Urawa, who lifted the AFC Champions League™ title for the third time in 2022 will, however, first have to navigate past tournament debutants Club Leon of Mexico, the 2023 Concacaf Champions League winners in a second round clash.

Busy international week for Asian sides

Tue, 05 Sep, 2023

Busy international week for Asian sides

Kuala Lumpur: The continent's national teams will be busy over the next few days as they finalise their preparations for two upcoming major assignments.

The first round of the Preliminary Joint Qualification Round 1 for the FIFA World Cup 2026 and AFC Asian Cup Saudi Arabia 2027™ is scheduled for October, with Round 2 to commence in November while the AFC Asian Cup Qatar 2023™ kicks off on January 12, 2024.

Europe Wrap: Son bags hat-trick; Kubo hits double

Tue, 05 Sep, 2023

Europe Wrap: Son bags hat-trick; Kubo hits double

Kuala Lumpur: Tottenham Hotspur captain Son Heung-min opened his account for the new season in spectacular style as he struck a hat-trick to help Australian manager Ange Postecoglou’s Spurs defeat Burnley 5-2 in England’s Premier League on Saturday. 

Takefusa Kubo created history in La Liga as he surpassed former Eibar winger Takashi Inui to become the highest-scoring Japanese player in the Spanish top flight with 18 goals after scoring a brace in Real Sociedad’s 5-3 win against Granada over the weekend. 
 
In Scotland, Japan striker Kyogo Furuhashi struck the winner in Celtic's 1-0 win over arch-rivals Rangers, Daichi Kamada’s goal helped Lazio beat title holders Napoli 2-1 in Italy and Takuma Asano bagged a double in Germany, so join the-AFC.com as we find out how the Asian stars performed in Europe over the past week. 

Saudi Arabian FF and FFIRI matches to be played home-and-away

Mon, 04 Sep, 2023

Saudi Arabian FF and FFIRI matches to be played home-and-away

Kuala Lumpur: The Asian Football Confederation (AFC) is pleased to confirm that all matches between the national teams and clubs of the Saudi Arabian Football Federation (SAFF) and Football Federation Islamic Republic of Iran (FFIRI) will take place on a home-and-away basis.

The welcome development follows a groundbreaking agreement between the SAFF and FFIRI today, which has been duly communicated to the AFC.

Test your #AFCU23 knowledge!

Fri, 01 Sep, 2023

Test your #AFCU23 knowledge!

Kuala Lumpur: The journey to reach the AFC U23 Asian Cup™ Qatar 2024 begins for 42 teams on Wednesday with 15 spots up for grabs.

Over the course of a three-matchday week between September 6 to 12, 11 groups – nine of four and two of three – in the Qualifiers will each be played at a centralised venue in a single round-robin format.
 
The action promises to be thrilling and ahead of the Qualifiers kicking off, the-AFC.com invites you - the fan - to test your knowledge of the AFC U23 Asian Cup.

#AFCU23 - Trip down memory lane

Sun, 03 Sep, 2023

#AFCU23 - Trip down memory lane

Kuala Lumpur: The race to reach the AFC U23 Asian Cup™ Qatar 2024 kicks off on Wednesday with 42 teams bidding for the 15 available slots in the Finals.

It promises to be a thrilling affair as the teams will not only be chasing continental glory but also three automatic spots to the 2024 Paris Olympic Games.
 
As the sides get set for pulsating action between September 6-12, the-AFC.com takes a look at previous editions of the tournament.