Asia’s top teams get their final push toward the World Cup finals in South Africa under way today with Japan facing a tricky encounter in Bahrain and Saudi Arabia battling Iran.
Of the 46 Asian Football Confederation nations who dreamed of making the finals in 2010, just 10 remain in the hunt — Australia, Bahrain, Japan, Iran, Qatar, Saudi Arabia, the two Koreas, UAE and Uzbekistan.
Four will qualify automatically, with the third-placed teams in the two groups of five playing off for the right to meet the Oceania representative, likely New Zealand, for a spot at the global showpiece.
Japan go into their clash against Bahrain in Manama desperate to take all three points.
“As I have always said, this match will be the most important for us,” coach Takeshi Okada said. “I think it will be a tough match. But if we overcome this, our team can step up further. So we want to take the first match no matter what.”
With Australia playing a friendly against the Netherlands today, the other Group A match sees Qatar take on Uzbekistan in Doha.
In Group B, plenty is at stake in Riyadh for heavyweights Saudi Arabia and Iran.
With South Korea, Asia’s most successful team on the world stage having qualified for the past six World Cups, also in the group but not playing today, dropping points could prove costly.
Iranian coach Ali Daei said he had a decent squad capable of going all the way.
“The current group of players are the best in Iranian soccer, they are highly motivated, ambitious and their only aim is the success of the national team,” he told reporters.
“Saudi Arabia is our traditional opponent with good players and team composition, but we have prepared ourselves with tactical trainings for this encounter,” he said.
In the other Group B game, the United Arab Emirates play North Korea in Abu Dhabi.
The final phase of Asian qualifying features 10 rounds of matches, culminating in June next year.
Two people died on Thursday after fans and police clashed outside the Estadio Monumental in Santiago ahead of a game in South America’s Copa Libertadores, Chilean authorities said. The fatalities happened shortly before the match between Chile’s Colo-Colo and Brazilian club Fortaleza, when police blocked about 100 fans when they attempted to enter the stadium. There were conflicting accounts of how the fatalities occurred, with local media reporting that one of the dead was a 13-year-old boy. The other victim was an 18-year-old woman, according to a relative at the hospital where she was treated. The fans died after being caught underneath a
College basketballer Kaitlyn Chen has become the first female player of Taiwanese descent to be drafted by a WNBA team, after the Golden State Valkyries selected her in the third and final round of the league’s draft on Monday. Chen, a point guard who played her first three seasons in college for Princeton University, transferred to the University of Connecticut (UConn) for her final season, which culminated in a national championship earlier this month. While at Princeton, Chen was named the Ivy League tournament’s most outstanding player three times from 2022 to last year. Prior to the draft, ESPN described Chen as
College basketballer Kaitlyn Chen (陳凱玲) has become the first player of Taiwanese descent to be drafted by a WNBA team, after being selected by the Golden State Valkyries in the third and final round of the league's draft yesterday. Chen, a point guard who played her first three seasons in college for Princeton University, transferred to the University of Connecticut (UConn) for her final season, which culminated in a national championship on April 6. While at Princeton, Chen was named the Ivy League tournament's most outstanding player three times from 2022 to last year. Prior to the draft, ESPN described Chen as a
Japan yesterday secured a second consecutive Billie Jean King Cup finals appearance with a 2-1 win over 2023 champions Canada, thanks to Ena Shibahara and Shuko Aoyama’s 6-3, 5-7, 6-2 win over Kayla Cross and Rebecca Marino in the qualifying doubles decider. Shibahara and Aoyama powered through the opening set 6-3, breaking twice for a quick 3-0 lead. Cross and Marino hit back in the second, edging it 7-5 to level the match, before the Japanese pair regained control in the third. Canada’s 18-year-old Victoria Mboko edged Shibahara 6-4, 6-7 (8/10), 7-5 in a marathon opening clash. Mboko fired eight aces to
RSS