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[VIDEO] Qatar defeat Japan to win the AFC Asian Cup 2019

TM Riddle said:
Sunil Chhetri leading from the front as usual.
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Sunil was his usual , but I thot they played brilliantly as a team in the second half as good as I have seen our national team play . UAE and Bahrain would be tougher , but we wont be easy to beat .
 
jusarrived said:
Sunil was his usual , but I thot they played brilliantly as a team in the second half as good as I have seen our national team play . UAE and Bahrain would be tougher , but we wont be easy to beat .
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Yeah the overall coordination was quite good. Other than that I really liked the atmosphere as well. Wish we get to play a lot in such conditions.
 
A day of upsets Jordan beating Australia was something special . Credit to Palestine who held off Syria too a scoreless draw despite being a man down as well
 
Congrats India. Saw the highlights, you played really well. Really a contender for 2026 World cup qualification
 
hafeezrocks said:
Which poverty tournament is this.
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Its second highest level international tournament. On par with Copa America, UEFA European Championship and african cup of nations. We dont know because we never qualify for it. Best in Asia compete here.
 
B_Positive said:
Its second highest level international tournament. On par with Copa America, UEFA European Championship and african cup of nations. We dont know because we never qualify for it. Best in Asia compete here.
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Does Pakistan team has any matches scheduled in 2019? PFF is a mess!
 
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Philippines gave a tough fight man and Krygz almost grabbed points if not for their keeper. And Yemen well tough match it was against mighty Iran.
 
If you were asked to name the player sandwiched between Cristiano Ronaldo and Lionel Messi in the scoring chart for most international goals by active players then how quickly would you come up with India striker Sunil Chhetri?

Chhetri scored twice against Thailand at the 2019 Asian Cup to reach 67 goals and overtake Argentina forward Messi's 65 to move second in the list.

He is still a way off Ronaldo's 85 goals for Portugal but 34-year-old is also 20th on the all-time list - ahead of not only Messi but the likes of Ivory Coast striker Didier Drogba, Brazilians Ronaldo and Neymar, and Sweden's Zlatan Ibrahimovic.

Chhetri's goals came in India's opening game of the Asian Cup, which is being held in the UAE, and gave his country their first win in the tournament in 55 years.

But who is he?

TOP ACTIVE INTERNATIONAL GOALSCORERS

Cristiano Ronaldo (Portugal) - 85 goals in 154 games

Sunil Chhetri (India) - 67 in 105

Lionel Messi (Argentina) - 65 in 128

Neymar (Brazil) - 60 in 95

India's Captain Fantastic
Chhetri, who plays for Bengaluru Football Club, is nicknamed Captain Fantastic and has long been the standout star of what is generally a limited Indian national team.

His first international goal in 2005 created history because it was the first to be scored in the first football match between India and Pakistan. The game eventually finished 1-1.

He was also essential in securing India their highest achievement of recent times, winning the 2008 Asian Football Confederation Challenge Cup - a tournament in which he scored four goals.

In all, he has played 105 games - giving him an average of 0.63 goals per game.

Domestically, his average is slightly less, at a touch under one goal every two games.

His attempts to break into more high-profile leagues has been less productive though. He has had brief periods outside of Indian football in Major League Soccer (making one substitute appearance for Kansas City Wizards) and with Sporting Lisbon's reserve side, but without success.

Sunil Chhetri
Chhetri signed a two-year contract with Sporting's B team but made only three appearances
However, Chhetri has been one of the few bright spots in India's persistent underachievement on the international stage, considering the country's population.

They qualified (by default) for the 1950 World Cup but withdrew after officials decided that the tournament was not important enough to bother with. A move that seems almost unfathomable now.

But they have not come anywhere close to qualifying since and have been almost as bad in attempting to make the Asian Cup finals.

This lack of prowess on the pitch has translated in recent times to dismal crowds for games.

When India hosted the 2018 Intercontinental Cup, so few came to witness the team's opening 5-0 win against Chinese Taipei that Chhetri - who scored a hat-trick in the game - put a video on Twitter pleading for more fans to come.

The video went viral in the country after being re-tweeted by top cricket stars Sachin Tendulkar and Virat Kohli, and saw India play to much bigger crowds for their final two games.

https://www.bbc.com/sport/football/46785382
 
MenInG said:
If you were asked to name the player sandwiched between Cristiano Ronaldo and Lionel Messi in the scoring chart for most international goals by active players then how quickly would you come up with India striker Sunil Chhetri?

Chhetri scored twice against Thailand at the 2019 Asian Cup to reach 67 goals and overtake Argentina forward Messi's 65 to move second in the list.

He is still a way off Ronaldo's 85 goals for Portugal but 34-year-old is also 20th on the all-time list - ahead of not only Messi but the likes of Ivory Coast striker Didier Drogba, Brazilians Ronaldo and Neymar, and Sweden's Zlatan Ibrahimovic.

Chhetri's goals came in India's opening game of the Asian Cup, which is being held in the UAE, and gave his country their first win in the tournament in 55 years.

But who is he?

TOP ACTIVE INTERNATIONAL GOALSCORERS

Cristiano Ronaldo (Portugal) - 85 goals in 154 games

Sunil Chhetri (India) - 67 in 105

Lionel Messi (Argentina) - 65 in 128

Neymar (Brazil) - 60 in 95

India's Captain Fantastic
Chhetri, who plays for Bengaluru Football Club, is nicknamed Captain Fantastic and has long been the standout star of what is generally a limited Indian national team.

His first international goal in 2005 created history because it was the first to be scored in the first football match between India and Pakistan. The game eventually finished 1-1.

He was also essential in securing India their highest achievement of recent times, winning the 2008 Asian Football Confederation Challenge Cup - a tournament in which he scored four goals.

In all, he has played 105 games - giving him an average of 0.63 goals per game.

Domestically, his average is slightly less, at a touch under one goal every two games.

His attempts to break into more high-profile leagues has been less productive though. He has had brief periods outside of Indian football in Major League Soccer (making one substitute appearance for Kansas City Wizards) and with Sporting Lisbon's reserve side, but without success.

Sunil Chhetri
Chhetri signed a two-year contract with Sporting's B team but made only three appearances
However, Chhetri has been one of the few bright spots in India's persistent underachievement on the international stage, considering the country's population.

They qualified (by default) for the 1950 World Cup but withdrew after officials decided that the tournament was not important enough to bother with. A move that seems almost unfathomable now.

But they have not come anywhere close to qualifying since and have been almost as bad in attempting to make the Asian Cup finals.

This lack of prowess on the pitch has translated in recent times to dismal crowds for games.

When India hosted the 2018 Intercontinental Cup, so few came to witness the team's opening 5-0 win against Chinese Taipei that Chhetri - who scored a hat-trick in the game - put a video on Twitter pleading for more fans to come.

The video went viral in the country after being re-tweeted by top cricket stars Sachin Tendulkar and Virat Kohli, and saw India play to much bigger crowds for their final two games.

https://www.bbc.com/sport/football/46785382
Click to expand...

Great article. India will be for sure a contender for 2026 WC qualification. They are improving drastically. Both in rankings and performances on field. Chhetri though will not be there. And it will take someone to fill in his shoes but they surely are getting a lot of good players coming through the ranks. I hope the feud in PFF ends and we can also revive our football.
 
B_Positive said:
Great article. India will be for sure a contender for 2026 WC qualification. They are improving drastically. Both in rankings and performances on field. Chhetri though will not be there. And it will take someone to fill in his shoes but they surely are getting a lot of good players coming through the ranks. I hope the feud in PFF ends and we can also revive our football.
Click to expand...

2026 is high hopes imo though I expect a far better team than we have currently , considering our age group teams look already more skillful and tactically superior than the national team . India needs a better coach than Constantine who cant even get the selections right and the tactics less said about it better .

There are few things which has to go right for Indian football to keep growing and one major factor would be how rest of the teams in the region do in future. We need Pak , Bangla , SL etc also to improve and get to at least ~120 ranking levels .
 
Asian Cups are always competitive, though for some bizarre reason both Korea and Iran have never won it in almost 40 years.

And far eastern nations have had hard luck in West Asia, so my guess is Saudis and Iran have the best chances.
 
For the note Qatar fans aren't allowed to enter UAE, and it was shameful to see the crowd booing Qatar every time they touched the ball against Lebanon.
 
Day in Review

Japan come from behind to beat Turkmenistan
Uzbekistan score late to grab all three points against Oman
Qatar beat Lebanon in Group E

Matchday five at the AFC Asian Cup UAE 2019 was another testament to the growing competitiveness of the Asian game as two stalwarts of the continent were victorious, but not after undergoing tricky tests. Qatar rounded out the day with a closely-fought 2-0 victory over Lebanon in Group E.


Japan 3-2 Turkmenistan, Group F
Al Nahyan Stadium, Abu Dhabi

Four-time Asian Cup winners Japan got their campaign off to a winning start with a narrow victory over plucky Turkmenistan. Ranked 127th in the FIFA/Coca-Cola World Ranking, Turkmenistan went into the break with a one-goal lead thanks to Arslanmurat Amanov's long-range stunner.

Samurai Blue hit back in the second half when talisman Yuya Osako netted a quickfire brace before attacking midfielder Ritsu Doan registered his side’s third. Ahmet Atayev reduced Japan’s lead from the penalty spot on 79 minutes but Hajime Moriyasu’s men held out for the win in Abu Dhabi.


Uzbekistan 2-1 Oman, Group F
Sharjah Stadium, Sharjah

Just like Japan earlier in the day, Hector Cuper’s Uzbekistan were pushed to the limit in their opening Group F game against Pim Verbeek’s Oman. Uzbekistan captain Odil Ahmedov fired the White Wolves in front in the 34th minute with an unstoppable free-kick that curled around the wall and found the bottom corner.

Verbeek’s side found a deserved equaliser thanks to substitute Muhsen Al Ghassani, who rounded highly-experienced goalkeeper Ignatiy Nesterov before firing into the net. However, their lead lasted just over ten minutes when another substitute made the difference, this time for the Uzbeks. Eldor Shomurodov ghosted past Mohammed Al-Musallami before scoring with his left-foot at Faiyz Al Rusheidi’s near post to seal the three crucial points for the Central Asians.

Uzbekistan will face neighbours Turkmenistan next, while Oman will prepare for a tough test against Japan.



Qatar 2-0 Lebanon, Group E
Hazza Bin Zayed Stadium, Al Ain

The day concluded with a closely-fought encounter between Qatar and Lebanon, the first between the sides in the competition’s history, to round out Group E. After the first half failed to see either team produce a goal, Qatar jumped in front in the 65th minute when Bassam Al Rawi scored with a free-kick at the edge of the penalty area, curling in a left-footed shot over the wall and into the top left corner.

Almoez Ali ensured coach Felix Sanchez’s side all three points when he stabbed in a second-chance opportunity from close range in the 79th minute, following Abdelaziz Hatim’s initial shot.

Qatar join Saudi Arabia at the top of the group (each with three points) with Lebanon and Korea DPR at the base of the table with zero points each.

https://www.fifa.com/news/y=2019/m=...anon.html?_branch_match_id=464880944034526275
 
Big game for the tournament hosts

DwjxSqtVYAAeJWH.jpg:large
 
India dominating UAE so far , but haven’t converted after creating opportunities
 
Missing too many chances but we are playing well, better than I expected.
 
Twice we hit the bar :facepalm:, just not our day.

Nevertheless well played boys, now please beat Bahrain to qualify to KO stage.
 
0-2

And we hit the goal post again

UAE had 3 scoring opportunities and they scored 2

I will not be surprised if we make the semis here . After today’s game fairly confident we can beat any team in Asia
 
jusarrived said:
0-2

And we hit the goal post again

UAE had 3 scoring opportunities and they scored 2

I will not be surprised if we make the semis here . After today’s game fairly confident we can beat any team in Asia
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Dude, there are at least 6 Asian sides better than UAE, some qualified for FIFA WC. Sure we have improved but let us not get ahead of ourselves. More than results, our process matters :msd
We must keep on improving and maybe after 8/12 years we can talk about beating the best of Asia, slow long grind awaits us. Hope we beat Bahrain to get the KO spot.
 
UAE were always the stronger team on paper against India. A bit more luck and the game would have been closer though.
 
I don't know why the UAE team were struggling against an amateurish side like India, expected better from them as only luck saved them in the end . But Indian Football team has really improved the way they are beating middle league sides like Thailand and entering the Top10 in Asia.
 
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Swashbuckler said:
Dude, there are at least 6 Asian sides better than UAE, some qualified for FIFA WC. Sure we have improved but let us not get ahead of ourselves. More than results, our process matters :msd
We must keep on improving and maybe after 8/12 years we can talk about beating the best of Asia, slow long grind awaits us. Hope we beat Bahrain to get the KO spot.
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I understand UAE are not the strongest , infact we could easily lose to Bahrain who are pretty good and get knocked out ..but on the otherhand on a good day we can beat the likes of Uzbekistan , China , Iraq and Jordan and compete with likes of Japan , Korea and Iran . To reach semis we need just good results and so thats not impossible , not saying it will happen .
 
The refereeing in games involving UAE has been quite pathetic , where gifted penalty against Bahrain and India where robbed of few corners .
 
Match starting now.

Hope India play out of their skin. If we qualify, this can be start of something great!
 
What an atmosphere in the stadium. One would think the match was happening in Kolkata!
Chants of India!! India!! on.
 
TM Riddle said:
What an atmosphere in the stadium. One would think the match was happening in Kolkata!
Chants of India!! India!! on.
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India's biggest game ever?

Im following the match but dont know much about India. Edathodika A has gone off, is he a big loss in defence?

Good luck India btw
 
0-0 Half Time

From what I have seen in the last 10 min, Bahrain are the much better team. More composed, better passing and more organised. India will need a luck to even get a draw here but that may be enough.
 
KingKhanWC said:
0-0 Half Time

From what I have seen in the last 10 min, Bahrain are the much better team. More composed, better passing and more organised. India will need a luck to even get a draw here but that may be enough.
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We are generally poor in first half , stupid strategy of playing safe first up . Bahrain have looked better , but if we come attacking in second half like last two games we can win this .
 
jusarrived said:
We are generally poor in first half , stupid strategy of playing safe first up . Bahrain have looked better , but if we come attacking in second half like last two games we can win this .
Click to expand...

I think the defender you lost is a blow. Bahrain look a counter attacking side, if India throw men forward they will score on the break. If I was India, I would keep it tight for now. The longer it's 0-0 the more chances Bahrain will take leaving India to counter. Let's see.
 
KingKhanWC said:
I think the defender you lost is a blow. Bahrain look a counter attacking side, if India throw men forward they will score on the break. If I was India, I would keep it tight for now. The longer it's 0-0 the more chances Bahrain will take leaving India with to counter. Let's see.
Click to expand...

Thankfully our defense is somewhat stronger even with the loss. If it's a draw we end up second in the group and qualify for the next round.
 
JattMaula said:
We should have scored against UAE.
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Wasted plenty of chances. Need to convert those opportunities into goals if we want to be anywhere near to be able to win the tournament which wouldn't be easy btw considering the level of competition around.
 
TM Riddle said:
Thankfully our defense is somewhat stronger even with the loss. If it's a draw we end up second in the group and qualify for the next round.
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Indian defenders put their bodies on the line and give it their all but in terms of organistion it's a weak defence. Will be surprising if Bahrain dont score here.
 
KingKhanWC said:
Indian defenders put their bodies on the line and give it their all but in terms of organistion it's a weak defence. Will be surprising if Bahrain dont score here.
Click to expand...

Yeah we are still at the developing stage. But lots of promising youngsters in the squad and hopefully they will learn from their mistakes.
 
TM Riddle said:
Yeah we are still at the developing stage. But lots of promising youngsters in the squad and hopefully they will learn from their mistakes.
Click to expand...

For sure, keeper looks very decent too.

India are giving it their all but the defence is wide open. Bahrain need a little quality and compusure and they will score.
 
KingKhanWC said:
For sure, keeper looks very decent too.

India are giving it their all but the defence is wide open. Bahrain need a little quality and compusure and they will score.
Click to expand...

Bahrain should have scored by now. Seem to be braindead like us.
 
Shocking tackle in the box by the skipper, very poor indeed, something you see in the playground.

Poor India, played really well.

Bahrain 1-0
 
Goal in the 90th minute. Would you believe it? Can't say we didn't deserve it.
Feel bad for Gurpreet though.Sensational saves tonight.
 
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