Thu, 28 Oct, 2021
Kuala Lumpur: With the Asian Qualifiers draw for the FIFA World Cup Qatar 2022 and AFC Asian Cup China 2023 upon us, we continue our look at classic matches of the past with an epic encounter on the road to Russia 2018.
Separated by the full width of the Asian confederation, Australia and Syria had little in common when they met in a hotly-contested two-legged play-off in October 2017, but it took 210 minutes and the width of a goalpost to separate them in what proved to be a modern-day classic.
www.the-afc.com/en/more/photo/postecoglou.html
www.the-afc.com/en/more/photo/ayman_hakeem-syria-2018_wcup.html
www.the-afc.com/en/more/photo/syria-australia1-wcup2018.html
www.the-afc.com/en/national/fifa_world_cup/video/syria_vs_australia.html
www.the-afc.com/en/more/photo/syria-australia2-wcup2018.html
www.the-afc.com/en/more/photo/syria-australia3-wcup2018.html
www.the-afc.com/en/national/fifa_world_cup/video/australia_vs_syria.html
www.the-afc.com/en/more/photo/tim_cahill_header_jpg.html
www.the-afc.com/en/more/photo/syria-australia5-wcup2018.html
www.the-afc.com/en/more/photo/australia-honduras-wcup2018.html
www.the-afc.com/en/more/photo/khribin-milligan_fifawcq_ls_jpg_2.html
Thu, 28 Oct, 2021
Kuala Lumpur: The roads to Qatar 2022 and China 2023 open up for Asia’s top 40 teams on Wednesday when they discover their opponents in the eagerly anticipated draw for the second round of the Asian Qualifiers.
The attention will be on the AFC House in Kuala Lumpur, Malaysia as the 34 nations who earned their places automatically for the second round, will be joined by the six winners from the first round of the FIFA World Cup Qatar 2022 and AFC Asian Cup China 2023 Joint Qualifiers.
Asia’s five representatives at the FIFA World Cup Russia 2018 – Australia, Islamic Republic of Iran, Japan, Korea Republic and Saudi Arabia as well as AFC Asian Cup reigning champions Qatar have all confirmed their spots in Pot 1 after sealing their places among Asia’s top eight in the June 14, 2019, FIFA World Ranking.
Thu, 28 Oct, 2021
Kuala Lumpur: As the countdown to Wednesday’s Asian Qualifiers draw for the FIFA World Cup Qatar 2022 and AFC Asian Cup China 2023 continues, the-AFC.com takes a look back at another great qualifying match of the past.
Few qualifiers in history have produced the drama seen in the World Cup qualifying play-off between Saudi Arabia and Bahrain in September 2009, where it took until the final seconds to decide the final Asian playoff.
Thu, 28 Oct, 2021
Kuala Lumpur: With just two days until Wednesday’s eagerly awaited Asian Qualifiers draw for FIFA World Cup Qatar 2022 and AFC Asian Cup China 2023, the-AFC.com continues its look back at some classic qualifying matches of yesteryear.
Entering the AFC Asian Cup qualifiers for the first time, Central Asian rivals Uzbekistan and Tajikistan played out a remarkable two-legged affair in 1996, with the White Wolves pulling off an incredible comeback to qualify 5-4 on aggregate after being 4-0 down.
Thu, 28 Oct, 2021
Kuala Lumpur: As fans across the Continent prepare for Wednesday’s Asian Qualifiers draw for the FIFA World Cup Qatar 2022 and AFC Asian Cup China 2023, the-AFC.com looks back at some of the unforgettable qualifying clashes of years past.
We kick off by recalling the epic FIFA World Cup France 1998 qualifying playoff between Japan and Islamic Republic of Iran, which sent the Samurai Blue to the Finals for the first time in their history.
Thu, 28 Oct, 2021
Salzburg: Bert van Marwijk’s United Arab Emirates took their first step towards the Asian Qualifiers of the 2022 FIFA World Cup and AFC Asian Cup China 2023 as they began preparations in Austria on Sunday.
Dutchman van Marwijk, who replaced Italian Alberto Zaccheroni last March, gathered his team in Munich, Germany before travelling to Salzburg where the team will spend a week before returning to Dubai on July 22.
UAE, who are among the 34 teams to have received a bye into the second round of the Asian Qualifiers, will begin their campaign on September 5 with their second match five days later.
Thu, 28 Oct, 2021
Kuala Lumpur: Islamic Republic of Iran head coach Marc Wilmots is more than hopeful of Team Melli’s future after what he has seen in the past month.
The 50-year-old Belgian coach took over the reins from Carlos Queiroz early in June, and enjoyed a good start to his tenure as Iran beat Syria 5-0 in an international friendly, before playing to a 1-1 draw against Korea Republic less than a week later.
Tasked with ensuring Team Melli make their sixth appearance in the FIFA World Cup, Wilmots is confident his side can rise up to the challenge en route to Qatar 2022, praising numerous his players with Persepolis’ goalkeeper Alireza Beiranvand and youngsters Younes Delfi and Allahyar Sayyadmanesh coming in for special mention.