AFC Asian Cup 2007 (July 7-July 29)

[Beejayville]

AFC ASIAN CUP 2007 FIXTURES

MatchDay 1
7/7/2007	19:35	Thailand	v	Iraq	Rajamangala National Stadium, Bangkok, THA
8/7/2007	17:20	Australia	v	Oman	Rajamangala National Stadium, Bangkok, THA
	19:35	Vietnam	v	UAE	My Dinh National Stadium, Hanoi, VIE
9/7/2007	17:20	Japan	v	Qatar	My Dinh National Stadium, Hanoi, VIE
10/7/2007	17:20	Indonesia	v	Bahrain	Gelora Bung Karno Stadium, Jakarta, IDN
	20:35	Malaysia	v	China	National Stadium Bukit Jalil, Kuala Lumpur, MAS
11/7/2007	18:20	Iran	v	Uzbekistan	National Stadium Bukit Jalil, Kuala Lumpur, MAS
	19:35	Korea Republic	v	Saudi Arabia	Gelora Bung Karno Stadium, Jakarta, IDN
MatchDay 2
12/7/2007	17:20	Oman	v	Thailand	Rajamangala National Stadium, Bangkok, THA
	19:35	Qatar	v	Vietnam	My Dinh National Stadium, Hanoi, VIE
13/7/07	17:20	Iraq	v	Australia	Rajamangala National Stadium, Bangkok, THA
	20:35	UAE	v	Japan	My Dinh National Stadium, Hanoi, VIE
14/7/07	18:20	Uzbekistan	v	Malaysia	National Stadium Bukit Jalil, Kuala Lumpur, MAS
	19:35	Saudi Arabia	v	Indonesia	Gelora Bung Karno Stadium, Jakarta, IDN
15/7/07	18:20	China	v	Iran	National Stadium Bukit Jalil, Kuala Lumpur, MAS
	19:35	Bahrain	v	Korea Republic	Gelora Bung Karno Stadium, Jakarta, IDN
MatchDay 3
16/7/07	17:20	Qatar	v	UAE	Army Stadium, Ho Chi Minh City, VIE
	17:20	Vietnam	v	Japan	My Dinh National Stadium, Hanoi, VIE
	19:35	Thailand	v	Australia	Rajamangala National Stadium, Bangkok, THA
	19:35	Oman	v	Iraq	Supachalasai Stadium, Bangkok, THA
18/7/07	17:20	Indonesia	v	Korea Republic	Gelora Bung Karno Stadium, Jakarta, IDN
	17:20	Saudi Arabia	v	Bahrain	Jaka Baring Stadium, Palembang, IDN
	20:35	Malaysia	v	Iran	National Stadium Bukit Jalil, Kuala Lumpur, MAS
	20:35	Uzbekistan	v	China	Shah Alam Stadium, Kuala Lumpur, MAS
MatchDay 4
21/7/07	17:20	B 1st	v	A 2nd	My Dinh National Stadium, Hanoi, VIE
	20:20	A 1st	v	B 2nd	Rajamangala National Stadium, Bangkok, THA
22/7/07	18:20	C 1st	v	D 2nd	National Stadium Bukit Jalil, Kuala Lumpur, MAS
	20:20	D 1st	v	C 2nd	Gelora Bung Karno Stadium, Jakarta, IDN
MatchDay 5
25/7/07	18:20	Winner QF1	v	Winner QF2	National Stadium Bukit Jalil, Kuala Lumpur, MAS
	20:20	Winner QF3	v	Winner QF4	My Dinh National Stadium, Hanoi, VIE
MatchDay 6
28/7/07	19:35	Loser SF1	v	Loser SF2	Jaka Baring Stadium, Palembang, IDN
MatchDay 7
29/7/07	19:35	Winner SF1	v	Winner SF2	Gelora Bung Karno Stadium, Jakarta, IDN
All match times are local to venue

[Beejayville]

Re: AFC Asian Cup 2007 (July 7-July 29) AFC ASIAN CUP 2007 GROUPS

Group A	Group B
Australia	Japan
Iraq	Qatar
Oman	UAE
Thailand	Vietnam
Group C	Group D
China	Bahrain
Iran	Indonesia
Malaysia	Korea Republic
Uzbekistan	Saudi Arabia

[Beejayville]

Re: AFC Asian Cup 2007 (July 7-July 29) Current World Rankings of Asian Cup teams

TEAM	RANK
Iran	47
Australia	48
Japan	49
Korea Republic	51
Uzbekistan	58
Saudi Arabia	62
Oman	74
China	76
Iraq	84
Qatar	85
UAE	94
Bahrain	100
Thailand	122
Vietnam	142
Indonesia	143
Malaysia	149

[888]

Re: AFC Asian Cup 2007 (July 7-July 29) Thailand vs Iraq One of the host nation, Thailand, will open the AFC Asian Cup campaign tonight against Iraq. Tough game will be expected from both side. On paper, Iraq looked to be the better team compared to Thailand. Most of Iraqis players are playing in Middle East soccer leagues which undoubtedly have the higher standard compared to Thai local leagues. Iraq features player such as Younis Mahmoud, the AFC Young Player of the Year nominee and finishes as top scorer in the Qatari league. Moreover they have few more players who establish themselves in countries like Cyprus(Mohammad Nasser and Mahdi Karim), Iran(Ahmed Khadim and GK Noor Sabri,), and Libya(Samer Saeed Mujbel and Ali Hussein Rehema). Under the guidance of Jorvan Vieira, the Brazillian man, Iraq possess a real threat on paper to Thailand. On the other hand, Thailand is a very strong team when it come to games in their home ground. Take a look here :

Fr	2 Jul 07	h Qatar	2-0	W
Fr	6 Jun 07	h Holland	1-3	L
Fr	16 May 07	h China	1-0	W

They managed to beat Qatar and China recently and this is a big achievement that shows the world the boys from South East Asia can match up to few Asian top teams. As a host, beside massive fanatic support that will drive them to play their best they might also receive favourable treatment from the referees too (It does happen sadly in Asia sometimes). Anyway, squad quality wise the Iraqis are stronger physically and are generally more experienced due to playing in higher quality leagues. But the Thais will be speedier than Iraqis players. Thailand can be very solid when it come to playing a good football. However lately, their major problem is lack of natural goal scorer. More often than not, they have to rely heavily on few of their players prowess on taking dead ball (free kicks) to win the game and against Iraq this could be costly. In conclusion, it is a very hard match to bet on. Weighing all factor from squad quality, motivational and home ground advantages, I would say today would be a drawn match. At the beginning, I was also interested on taking Iran level ball in Asian Handicap. Nonetheless, I think for now I might just leave this game alone. Picks : PENDING [ Most likely leaving this game alone ]

[Beejayville]

Re: AFC Asian Cup 2007 (July 7-July 29) Nice review Triple Eight and thanx for the input :ok

[888]

Re: AFC Asian Cup 2007 (July 7-July 29) After some thinking again I will wager on draw with very small stake. Thailand vs Iraq Pick: DRAW @ 3.4 Skybet [ 2/10 ]

[888]

Re: AFC Asian Cup 2007 (July 7-July 29) Watch live @ TVUPlayer : CCTV5 ( Thailand vs Iraq )

[888]

Re: AFC Asian Cup 2007 (July 7-July 29)

Nice review Triple Eight and thanx for the input :ok

Thx Beejay :) Didn't watch the 2nd half but the 1st half Iraq really dominated Thailand after they conceede the soft penalty. Iraq imo deserved to win, but I'm only saying this based on the 1st half. Thought the 2nd half going to rain with goals since both team keep attacking in the 1st half especially Iraq. But oh well, I'll settle with the 1 - 1 scoreline and enjoy my winnings :nana

[888]

Re: AFC Asian Cup 2007 (July 7-July 29)

Australia vs Oman

There were news around the Australian camp that Mark Bresciano and Luke Wilkshire might not be able to perform due to injuries at training. However, today they all have been given the clearance to play. So at this stage Australia will approach this match at full strength. The expectation of Australia to overcome Oman is huge tonight and the pressure is certainly on them. Without further doubts, Australia have the better squad compared to Oman with all the European based players in the team. The like of Viduka, Kewell, Bresciano, Neill are the players to watch in this tournament. Oman soccer has progressed further in recent years with a lot of their national team players are currently playing in Qatar soccer leagues. Notable players from their team are Ali Al-Habsi, currently with Bolton in EPL, and Fawzi Bashir. Under Gabriel Calderon, the former Argentinian international, they are in good hands. Australia should win this clash easily on paper. However, it is not as easy as it looks. First of all, the Australian will struggle more compared to Oman in adapting to Thailand weather. Moreover, Australia is under big pressure to win the clash while Oman would be really happy with a draw. Another thing to consider is Australian defensive capability. Upfront they have no problem with a lot of players with a lot of quality and class. But at the back they have not been really impressive. It is evident in their last friendly match against Singapore. The Lions should of scored few goals in that match if they have better goal scorer. Despite saying that, today is a different ball game since the last game played was only a friendly and such leakage could possibly happen due to the Socceroos underestimating their opponent. In my verdict, I think Australia should managed to get pass Oman tonight. It won't be easy but I think if Australia can get an early goal, they really could go all the way to win big tonight. No betting picks yet for me, since I found no value with Australia -1.5 Asian Handicap nor on Australia Straight Win on 1X2 bet. So far, its a no bet match for me.

[888]

Re: AFC Asian Cup 2007 (July 7-July 29)

Vietnam vs UAE

Vietnam is under a serious problem coming to this match with up to eleven of their senior players will be missing due to injuries, suspension and jailed because of match fixing scandals in the local leagues. Alfred Riedl, Vietnam coach, admitted on one of his interview that it would be very hard to get pass the group stages with Qatar, UAE, and Japan there. Lets take a look at the squad that Vietnam brings for this cup : GK: Duc Cuong (U23), Quang Huy, Hong Son, DF: Nguyen Van Bien (U23), Viet Cuong (U23), Phung Van Nhien, Quang Thanh, Nhu Thanh, Huy Hoang, Hung Dung MF: Vu Phong (U23), Cong Minh (U23), Minh Chuyen (U23), Mai Tien Thanh (U23), Dong Huy Thai (U23), Tan Tai, Tai Em, Minh Phuong, Duc Duong FW: Anh Duc (U23), Cong Vinh (U23), Phuc Hiep (U23), Thanh Binh (U23) On the contrary, UAE coming to this match with a lot of confidence after winning the Gulf Cup earlier this year. Under Bruno Metsu too, they are coached by one of world impressive coaches. Metsu works his magic last time with Senegal bringing them to 2002 World Cup Quater Final stage before losing to Turkey. Ismail Mattar is definetely the player to watch from UAE. He had won the Golden Ball at the 2003 World Youth Championships and was the top scorer in Gulf Cup scoring 5 goals in 5 matches. With the crisis that Vietnam is currently going through I would favour UAE to win this clash. However, Vietnam can't be underestimated too. They are playing in their own home ground and this is a big advantage in Asia. Beside fanatic support, referees could also give Vietnam some favourable decision. Just look at Thailand matches last night when Iraq conceeded a soft penalty. Not only home advantage factors, but in recent friendlies games Vietnam has done considerably well beating Jamacia 3 - 0 and another AFC candidates Bahrain 5-3 both in friendly matches. Vietnam captain, Nguyen Manh Dung, said that he would love to play his 101% for this cup since it is chance to shine and hopefully he can be scouted by other higher standard soccer leagues club. Currently he earns around $800 USD per month for playing as a full-time professional club players. And I'm sure hes not the only one that is desperate to furhter develop their career and earn more money. Finally, we can expect a tough fighting game from Vietnam. But UAE really can't afford to lose this since the other 2 countries Vietnam aside in their group would pose a threat. So I think UAE should win this by 1 goal. Can't see a trashing happening when Vietnam playing at home and the biggest upset for me would be a draw and no more in my view

[blackcrow]

Re: AFC Asian Cup 2007 (July 7-July 29) Australia -1 (EH) Alot of confidence form the Australian camp coming this game, and they will be wanting to make a very good impression from the start considering it is their first try in this tournament. They have been acclimatising for the last two weeks in the humid conditions and with a fully fit squad, they should have the ability and the stamina to win this by at least a couple of goals

[Beejayville]

Re: AFC Asian Cup 2007 (July 7-July 29) Australia v Oman Rajamangala National Stadium, Bangkok, July 8, 20:20 AEST Head to Head: Never met The Socceroos looked shaky during their final warm-up game when they were fortunate to beat lowly Singapore - which did not even qualify for the Asian Cup finals - 3-0. Meanwhile Oman showed signs that it will be no pushover for the Australians by holding the highly-respected Saudis to a 1-1 draw in their final warm-up match. The Socceroos might be favourites to lift the Asian Cup at their first attempt but Graham Arnold's team have no shortage of concerns heading into the opening match with star midfielder Marco Bresciano struggling to be fit due to a toe injury while left-back Luke Wilkshire is in doubt with an ankle injury - placing further pressure on a defence already struggling to cope with the absence of World Cup stars Craig Moore and Scott Chipperfield. Oman's biggest concern, like all teams that will have to face Australia over the next month, is how to deal with the aerial threat posed by the Socceroos, who will keen to maximise their natural height and strength advantage against the smaller Asian nations. AUSTRALIA Mark Viduka the Australian captain is arguably in career best form, having enjoyed a stellar end to the last English Premier League season with Middlesbrough before his high profile switch to Newcastle. Viduka almost retired from international football to concentrate on his new club but his presence looms as crucial to Australian hopes over the next three weeks. With his height, strength and ability to bring his teammates into the game with his great skills, he looms as a major headache for the Oman defence on Sunday. OMAN The Socceroos' attack might be a handful for Oman on Sunday but at least they can relax in the knowledge they have one of the best keepers at the tournament in goal for them. This 25-year-old Ali Al Habsi, who has been named the best keeper at the past two Gulf Cups, became the first player from Oman ever to play in Europe when he joined Norwegian side FC Lyn Oslo before he secured a dream move to the EPL where he is currently the number two keeper at Bolton Wanderers. This won't be no walk in the park for the Socceroos against an Oman side ranked number seven in Asia. With the Australians still acclimatising to the fierce humidity of Bangkok and with the team having several injury worries and a makeshift defence, don't be surprised if Oman give the Socceroos a real contest. However with the class of Viduka and Harry Kewell up front, it's hard to see the Australians even being held to a draw much less losing but it wouldn't be a surprise if their understrength defence conceded one at the other end. AUSTRALIA to win by a couple of goals.

[Beejayville]

Re: AFC Asian Cup 2007 (July 7-July 29)

After some thinking again I will wager on draw with very small stake. Thailand vs Iraq Pick: DRAW @ 3.4 Skybet [ 2/10 ]

Congrats on the Draw tip win 8's :clap:clap:clap Aussies should win tonight but they are very short. Fair chance of the Over 2.5 goals which is showing $1.57 Australia in front at HalfTime/Fulltime is $1.72

[ads25]

Re: AFC Asian Cup 2007 (July 7-July 29) I might have a dib at Australia 3-0 correct score with small stakes. Paying $7.00 and reckon it will be a big win to aussies. :ok

[Football-Tipper]

Re: AFC Asian Cup 2007 (July 7-July 29) Oz HT/FT @ 4/5 stands out to me....Will also have a bet on Oz to win 2-0 (11/2) and 3-0 (17/2)

[Football-Tipper]

Re: AFC Asian Cup 2007 (July 7-July 29) Well thats buggered that up.... Oman 1-0 up :(

[Beejayville]

Re: AFC Asian Cup 2007 (July 7-July 29) HT: Australia 0 - 1 Oman Badar Mubarak 32 Very ordinary display by Australia in the first half. They had one clear cut chance when Kewell had a half volley that he wasn't able to hit properly and other than that the Aussies have not looked dangerous at all. Oman on the other hand look fitter, sharper, and more skilled. They have played a short passing game and combined with their speed they are cutting the Aussies up on the counter attack. Australia don't appear to be handling the humid conditions, and they look slow and lethargic compared to the Omanians. This has the potential to be a 2 or 3 goal win to Oman as the game wears on. The Aussies will need to lift and start playing attacking football. As good as Oman has been to watch play the game, so far they have had 5 players go down with what looks to be life threatening injuries. It's a shame a side that is good to watch in an attacking free flowing sense can be also a blight on the game with their continued feigned injuries.

[Rockman]

Re: AFC Asian Cup 2007 (July 7-July 29) Vietnam should not be underestimated at all.Thye are playing at home and this is their big chance to succeed.Uae is nothing special themselve even though they won the gulf cup.I would gladly take vietnam here with handicaps. vietnam +3/[email protected] 5/10

[888]

Re: AFC Asian Cup 2007 (July 7-July 29) My betting pick of the night would be : UAE -0.5 @ [ 4 / 10 ] I'll use all my winnings yesterday on this bet. Vietnam really have the home advantage and a decent squad but after a lot of consideration. I think quality will prevail here.

[Beejayville]

Re: AFC Asian Cup 2007 (July 7-July 29) Group A - Game 1 Thailand 1 - 1 Iraq 6m Suksomkit(Th) 32m Khalef(IR) Iraq had to settle for a draw despite being the dominant side in the first half after conceding an early penalty to the home side. However Thailand could consider themselves lucky as their appeared to be only slight contact on their veteran striker Kiatisuk Senamuang for the penalty as fellow striker Sutee Suksomkit coolly tucked away the spot-kick. The match was just about flooded 2 hours before kick-off by a downpour and there was no doubt the heavy conditions and the humidity, contributed to a nervous defensive performance by both sides. After its early goal Thailand was outclassed by Iraq and it was only a matter of time before Iraq equalised. It came in the 31st minute by a Younes Khalef header from a perfectly placed free-kick by impressive midfielder Salih Al Sadwn. In the end a 1-1 draw was a fair result and while it was a better result for the home side than Iraq. Group A - Game 2 FT: Australia 1 - 1 Oman 32m Badar Mubarak (OM) 91m Tim Cahill (AU) Australia very lucky to escape with one point in this game and they can thank goalkeeper Mark Schwarzer who made 3 magnificent saves and sub Tim Cahill who scored in the 91st minute. Oman should have won this game by a couple of goals because they were clearly the better side. The Aussies looked slow and lethargic, and the Omanians had too much speed to allow Australia to do much at all. First class performance by Oman and they should be sitting on top of this group with 3 points, but they are not, and Australia just got out of jail for free.

Group A
	P	Pts
Australia	1	1
Iraq	1	1
Oman	1	1
Thailand	1	1

[888]

Re: AFC Asian Cup 2007 (July 7-July 29) Now everyone in group A is currently sitting under 1 points and all with the same goal differences. I guess its good that the favourites are now not really in the driving seat. Certainly would make the clash in group A more interesting. Oman played very good I have to say and I fully agree with what Beejay had said. I think weather played a lot of factor on this outcome. At the start of the match, if memory serves me right it was 34 degree. For Oman, this is an everyday stuff for them but not for the aussie. And as a result, Oman adapt better and are able to play their top level football here. Australia looked slow and sluggish.

[ads25]

Re: AFC Asian Cup 2007 (July 7-July 29) Shocking the Aussies, got out of jail there with that result as Tim Cahill saved us yet again. How good was Mark Schwarzter, those 3 saves he made were incredible and we have him to thank. Torrential rain didnt help either. Also it didnt help when the Oman players went down every couple of minutes and got the stretcher. I thought the Italians were bad at diving, these guys are in a different league. What a discrace... :wall

[888]

Re: AFC Asian Cup 2007 (July 7-July 29) Was it raining on the 2nd half guys ? I went home after watching the 1st half. Can't stand the diving. They are good at rolling. I see this guy he was rolling quite far. Top stuff for a good laugh.

[Beejayville]

Re: AFC Asian Cup 2007 (July 7-July 29) Only rained the last 15 minutes or so, which was probably better for Australia, cos brought Oman back to their level. I felt sorry for the guys carrying the stretchers out every 5 minutes to carry off an Oman player, funny really if it wasn't so pathetic :rollin Why can't they create a rule where if a player is carried off on a stretcher he has to stay off for 15 minutes. It would soon stop them doing that crap. Spoilt an otherwise impressive performance by Oman and they were a quick side, and made the Aussies look ordinary at times.

[Beejayville]

Re: AFC Asian Cup 2007 (July 7-July 29)

Was it raining on the 2nd half guys ? I went home after watching the 1st half. Can't stand the diving. They are good at rolling. I see this guy he was rolling quite far. Top stuff for a good laugh.

I have all the games live at home on Fox :ok

[The Insider]

Re: AFC Asian Cup 2007 (July 7-July 29) Home side Thailand recieved a soft penalty yesterday and Asian Cup did not start well for the referees and the home countries. Now, another home side, Vietnam plays vs UAE and this time, they try to use the referee as well. Luckily, the ref Najm is on his fair days. Vietnam player Van Tai Em was given a yellow card instead of a penalty some mins ago

[123456]

Re: AFC Asian Cup 2007 (July 7-July 29) Thanks for the information, Beejayville. Could you please post the corner kick statistic data as well. I have no idea where to find the mactch statistic data. Recently I bet on corner kick and find there is some profit if knowning the style and strength of each team.

[thebambers]

Re: AFC Asian Cup 2007 (July 7-July 29) be careful with corners as its a complete lottery mate. I used to do them and its complete guess work. For eg, Spain had a game last night they did not have to win and there were about 15 corners whereas Uruguay went behind and needed to get back into the game so expected them to push forward and there were less than 8 corners! I reckon its about a 50/50 strike rate. If you gonna do it do it on the live games and give it 10 mins to see how the game has started but this too had no guarantees - believe me!

[123456]

Re: AFC Asian Cup 2007 (July 7-July 29) I bet on corner kick in this way. take the live match between vietnam and URE as an example. At around 7 mintues, the odds under 9 corner is 2.37 and no corner kick at that time. I bet 100 pounds on that. as time passed to around 20 miuntes, there is still no corner kick. The odds over 8 coner change to 2.37 now. I bet second 100 pounds on this odds. This will guarantee me 37 pounds profit on this game. There is only one corner kick at the first half, I won't bet on that any more. At second half, It is quite danger to do that. Basically I find there is enough time to wait until the odds change and you can get profit.All I need is to keep calm and not be greedy. I normally do the first bet between time 10-20 minutes. At that moment, I get a lit bit clear about the match. I did such bet 7 times yesterday all won and get average profit 15 pounds of each match. I once planned to do same bet on the macth between Spain and Jordan u-20 yesterday. I planned to do the first bet at odds over 10 corner from beginning. I gess there must be a lot of corner kicks after get the statistic data from fifa.com and it did. But in end, I gave up.

[The Insider]

Re: AFC Asian Cup 2007 (July 7-July 29) Lebanese referee Talaat Najm already deserved his place for at least one SEMI FINAL match. Great decisions in this hard match. A terrible performance by both sides and a little mistake can decide on the winner. That's why the referees only one little wrong decision can mean one side wins the three points undeserved! Btw, home side Vietnam scores the 1-0 leading goal. Terrible defending mistake by UAE.