Taiwanese soccer fans have more international action to look forward to, with both the men’s under-23s and the women’s national squad taking on visiting teams in Kaohsiung and Taipei in the coming weeks.
In Group F of the Asian Football Confederation (AFC) under-23 qualifiers, Taiwan are hosting Australia, Myanmar and Hong Kong, with all the matches being played at the National Stadium in Kaohsiung starting on Friday next week.
Six players from the squad that defeated Brunei 2-0 in FIFA 2018 World Cup qualifying on Tuesday are eligible for under-23 duty — Wang Ruei (scorer of the first goal in Brunei), Wen Chih-hao, Ko Yu-ting, Chen Chao-an, Lin Che-ting and second-choice goalkeeper Chiu Yu-hung — and they are to report for training next week
Photo courtesy of the Chinese Taipei Football Association
In the opening matches on Friday next week, Australia are due to take on Hong Kong at 4pm, before Taiwan face Myanmar at 7pm.
A big crowd is expected the following Sunday when Taiwan go up against Australia at 7pm after Myanmar take on Hong Kong at 4pm.
The final matches on March 31 see Australia take on Myanmar and Taiwan face Hong Kong.
Taiwan under-23 head coach Chang Wu-yeh said the key to qualifying will be the game against Myanmar.
“We must go all-out to pick up a win. Then after that against Hong Kong, we should also need a good performance to get a victory,” Chang said.
He admitted Australia are the favorites, so Taiwan are likely to play a more defensive formation to avert a heavy defeat.
“The team has trained to use different formations and tactics depending on the opposition. For this tournament, we must rely on teamwork, because if we count on individual battles in one-on-one situations, then we have little chance of winning,” Chang said.
The Asian qualifiers for next year’s Olympic Games in Rio de Janeiro began last night with the Mulan women’s national team defeating Laos 4-0 at the Taipei Municipal Stadium.
Laos next face Iran tomorrow, while Taiwan take on Iran on Tuesday, with all the matches kicking off at 7pm.
Taiwanese badminton superstar Lee Yang broke down in tears after publicly retiring from the sport on Sunday. The two-time Olympic gold medalist held a retirement ceremony at the Taipei Arena after the final matches of the Taipei Open. Accompanied by friends, family and former badminton partners, Lee burst into tears while watching a video celebrating key moments in his professional sporting career that also featured messages from international players such as Malaysia’s Teo Ee Yi, Hong Kong’s Tang Chun-man, and Indonesia’s Mohammad Ahsan and Hendra Setiawan. “I hope that in the future when the world thinks about me, they will
Former Formosa Dreamers player Ilkan Karaman was killed in a traffic accident in Datca, Turkey, Turkish media reported yesterday. He was 34. The former Turkish national team player was reportedly hit by a car, the driver of which was allegedly drunk, while he was standing on a sidewalk, Turkish newspaper Sozcu reported. Karaman and his friends were on their way to the beach town of Dalaman to go scuba diving when they stopped at a gas station to buy gasoline, it reported. Karaman was hit by the car while waiting on a sidewalk as his friends were buying gasoline, it
ANKLE PROBLEM: Taiwan’s Ye Hong-wei and Lee Chia-hsin had a disappointing end to their tournament after an injury forced them out of their mixed doubles semi-final Taiwanese badminton ace Tai Tzu-ying on Friday was knocked out in the women’s singles quarter-finals at her last Taipei Open. The world No. 3 lost 21-18, 16-21, 22-24 to Putri Kusuma Wardani of Indonesia in a match that stretched 68 minutes at the Taipei Arena. Despite her higher ranking, Tai said she was not too sad about the loss, given her struggle with a lingering knee injury. “Wins and losses are just part of the game. Actually, I think I’m going to lose every single match considering my condition now,” said the five-time champion of the Super 300 event, who has announced plans
When details from a scientific experiment that could have helped clear Russian figure skater Kamila Valieva landed at the World Anti-Doping Agency (WADA), the leader of the organization’s reaction was unequivocal: “We have to stop that urgently,” he wrote. No mention of the test ever became public and Valieva’s defense at the Court of Arbitration for Sport (CAS) went on without it. What effect the information could have had on Valieva’s case is unclear, but without it, the skater, then 15 years old, was eventually disqualified from the 2022 Winter Olympics after testing positive for a banned heart medication that would later
RSS