Iran’s Ghalenoei hits back at media critics after Japan win
February 5 – Iran coach Amir Ghalenoei has denounced sections of the country’s media for having previously criticised the team after guiding them to the semi-finals of the Asian Cup.
February 5 – Jordanian president of the West Asian Football Federation (WAFF), Prince Ali bin Al Hussein, in a powerful letter has written to FIFA and its federation members calling for united action to “isolate” Israel for its military action in Gaza.
February 5 – The Palestinian body count in Gaza has now reached over 26,000 with the more than 65,000 civilians injured. The impact has been felt across every human activity in the country, whether in Gaza or the West Bank.
February 6 – The semi-finals of the Asian Cup kick off today with Jordan playing South Korea in the Ahmad bin Ali stadium in Doha. Tomorrow Qatar play Iran.
Qatar keep Asian Cup dream alive with penalty shoot-out win over Uzbekistan
February 3 – In a tight match that was all square at 1-1 after extra time, Qatar beat Uzbekistan 3-2 in the penalty shoot out to keep their dream of retaining the Asian Cup title they won in 2019 alive.
Iran score from the penalty spot in added time to end Japan’s push for 5th title
February 3 – Another goal in added time in this tournament of late match winners, saw Iran overcome Japan in what was very much a game of two halves and grew into a pulsating quarter final.
Korea’s added time goal and Son Heung-min’s masterclass send Aussies down under
February 2 – South Korea dumped Australia out of the Asian Cup 2-1 at the Al Janoub Stadium in Al Wakrah in a match that looked as though it had gone Australia’s way at the 90-minute mark.
Jordan end Tajikistan’s dream with 1-0 win to secure semi-final slot
February 2 – Jordan became the first team to claim a semi-final berth at the Asian Cup after they bundled debutants Tajikistan out in the quarter finals with a 1-0 win, courtesy of an Abdallah Nasib headed goal.
Aussies forced to patch defence after cyber attack
February 2 – Football Australia is investigating reports that the private information of fans and players has been leaked as part of a possible cybersecurity breach.
Added time goals are shaping destiny of the Asian Cup
By Abdelaziz Abuhamar
February 2 – The Asian Cup has been characterised by the number of games going down to the wire and in the 44 matches played to the end of the round of 16 a remarkable 18 goals have been scored in added time after the 90 minutes have been played.
TV viewers switch on to Asian Cup, smashing all previous records
February 1 – Having already announced record breaking social media and attendance for the Asian Cup Qatar 2023 that enters the quarter final stage today, the AFC is reporting that the finals tournament is also smashing TV viewership records.
No Taremi but Iranians promise 26 like him for Japan quarter final
February 1 – Saeid Ezatolahi, has promised that Iran will play with “26 Taremis” against Japan after the star striker from Porto was sent off in his side’s penalty drama victory against a stubborn Syria in the round of 16 of the Asian Cup.
Iraqi-led petition has 80,000+ signatures calling for suspension of referee Faghani within 48hrs
February 1 – The fall out following Iraq’s controversial exit from the Asian Cup has continued with more than 800,000 people singing a petition on Change.org demanding that match referee Alireza Faghani be suspended.
Japan find form with Moriyasu saying they will improve again
January 31 – Japan stuck to the script to seal their spot in the quarter finals of the Asian Cup easing past Bahrain to put a shaky looking second place finish in the group stage behind them.
Klinsmann praises Mancini and Saudi but rues Korea not winning their group
January 31 – South Korea advanced to the quarter finals of the Asian Cup by way of penalty shootout on Tuesday night, as the Koreans left it late but got the job done over the high-flying Saudi Falcons.
