By Abdelaziz Abuhamar
January 18 – Two goals from Almoez Ali, the young Qatari striker who is rapidly becoming the star of this tournament, made many personal, national and continental records as well as setting a number of new Qatar records.
By Paul Nicholson and Samindra Kunti
January 17 – Ali Almoez delivered another powerful goal scoring performance inspiring Qatar to a resounding 2-0 win over a solidly organised but rarely threatening Saudi Arabia. Qatar top Group E unbeaten and now face Iraq in the last 16.
January 17 – On a day of heartbreak, tears and joy at the Asian Cup Oman and Vietnam booked spots among Asia’s last 16 as Lebanon, Palestine, Turkmenistan and North Korea crashed out and waved goodbye to the tournament.
January 17 – The Saudi Arabian FA was giving tickets away in hotels in Abu Dhabi prior to the kick off the top of the table group clash between them and Qatar tonight.
By Paul Nicholson in Abu Dhabi
January 17 –Last night Iran and Iraq treated us to a fractious encounter. Two proud nations who have a political history of conflict delivered an at times niggly if not quite full-on encounter. Tonight the Asian Cup delivers War GamesII – Qatar vs Saudi Arabia, the blockbuster game to end the group stages.
January 17 – Iran advanced to the last 16 of the Asian Cup as group D winners after a goalless draw with local rival Iraq. Vietnam defeated Yemen 2-0 to remain in contention for a knockout ticket.
January 16 – South Korea coach Paulo Bento heralded Tottenham’s Son Heung-min as a pivotal influence in his team ‘s 2-0 win over China. Son, featuring in the starting eleven, earned an early penalty and assisted his team’s second goal.
By Abdelaziz Abuhamar
January 16 – Iraq’s wonder kid Muhannad Ali set a new regional record in the AFC Asian Cup 2019 by becoming the youngest Arab player to ever score in the continental showpiece. He has also become the third youngster to have scored in the competition’s history.
By Samindra Kunti
January 16 – A Son-inspired South Korea passed their first major test of the Asian Cup by beating China and Marcello Lippi 2-0 to win Group C with a perfect record and nine points. The wait for the Tottenham star was over and his impact was immediate, forcing an early penalty and provided an assist to set his team on the path to victory.
By Paul Nicholson and Samindra Kunti in Abu Dhabi
January 16 – Palestine’s football team is unavoidably and inextricably linked with their national struggle, frankly, the Israelis have made it so. With their border blockades of players, equipment and even visiting national teams, the Israelis have few friends in Asian football, and probably wouldn’t even be part of the football world if FIFA president Gianni Infantino hadn’t controversially saved them from a vote to exclude them last Congress.
By Abdelaziz Abuhamar
January 15 – Chinese striker Yu Dabao has made AFC Asian Cup history by scoring the fastest goal-ever in the history of the continental tournament by a substitute.
By Samindra Kunti in Abu Dhabi
January 15 – Jordan topped Group B on seven points with a hard-earned goalless draw against Palestine, a result that left Palestine’s fate in the balance in third place with two points.
January 15 – Syrians will be sick of the sight of Australians after history repeated itself in Al Ain when a rocket from Tom Rogic sent the Syrians home for the second time in a year from a major tournament.
By Andrew Warshaw
January 15 – It was nowhere in the script. Yet in a matter of days, Stephen Constantine, the only English coach at the Asian Cup, went from hero to zero, resigning as India’s head coach after they were knocked out following a 1-0 defeat by Bahrain.
January 15 – The Asian Football Confederation the AFC has fined Lebanon coach Miodrag Radulovic for comments about the referees after his team’s 2-0 defeat by Qatar in their opening game last week. The Montenegrin will have to pay $7,500 for his remarks.