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SINGAPORE — The Asian Football Confederation (AFC) has lauded the record lack of draws at the ongoing Asian Cup in Australia, but the absence of tied matches raises questions about the competitiveness of future 24-team expanded editions.

Five of the quarter-finalists at the 16-team tournament in Australia qualified with a group game to spare, with six of the first 20 matches being won by at least a three-goal margin.

There were no draws in any of the 24 group stage games, surpassing the previous mark at a major football event of 18 set at the 1930 World Cup in Uruguay, the AFC said.

Remarkable, as the regional body described it?

Or simply predictable, such is the gulf in class between the continent’s haves and have nots?

The prospect of Lebanon, Malaysia or Hong Kong joining the 24-team fray in four years’ time would likely dilute the group phase even further, weaken the tournament’s spectacle and only add to its length.

That, though, is a short-term view, according to the experienced English coach Steve Darby, who has worked extensively throughout the continent.

“By opening up the Asian Cup draw to 24, at least eight more countries have the chance to gain international tournament experience, which is so vital to development both on and off the field,” he told Reuters this week.

“When I coached Thailand we lost out on goal difference and the qualification would have been a massive boost for the country’s football.”

Middle tier 

Palestine was fortunate to ship only 11 goals in Australia, with the more established 10 times Gulf champions Kuwait leaking eight in its first two before exiting.

Darby, who has also worked in Bahrain, Singapore, Vietnam and most recently in the new Indian Super League with Mumbai, said thumping defeats were inevitable and trying to protect sides against them was pointless.

“Big scores will always happen in tournaments, even Brazil lost by six to Germany,” he said of the 2014 World Cup hosts’ 7-1 hammering in July.

“There will always be a block of great teams and the weaker group, but teams such as Jordan, Iraq and Bahrain are starting to create a middle tier and China is at last looking like it should be.”

China only scrapped through to the finals on goal difference after a woeful qualifying campaign, but Alain Perrin’s young side has won three out of three to set up a quarter-final against the hosts on Thursday in Brisbane.

The Chinese are reaping the benefits of clearing corruption and investing in their youth teams and domestic league.

Darby said strong, corruption-free domestic leagues should be the priority for developing countries, rather than chirping for extra Asian Cup slots.

“Professionalisation of administration at all levels. The countries, and in turn clubs, have to get away from presidents picking teams or politicians getting involved using the game as a vote gathering vehicle.

“For the game in Asia a Chinese victory would be incredible. They should be a world power.”

China’s goalkeeper Wang Dalei prepares to train ahead of the Asian Cup quarter-finals match against Australia in Brisbane on Wednesday (Reuters photo by Edgar Su)

BRISBANE — Australia versus China: it should be one of the great rivalries in Asian football.

That it is not, at least right now, is a reflection on how long the two regional powerhouses have taken to embrace the world’s most popular game.

But the times are changing quickly and on Thursday, the two nations will lock horns in the quarter-finals at the Asian Cup.

The stakes are high and in years to come, this match could be remembered as the start of a long battle for Asian supremacy.

The countries have played each other 10 times before, with Australia winning five times, China four times and the other match drawn, but this will be the first time in a major competition.

There are more than just bragging rights on the line. Neither country has won the Asian Cup before and both have even grander ambitions, investing millions of dollars to develop the talent they need to become a contender at the World Cup.

Although Australia is a newcomer to the Asian Cup, entering the competition for the first time in 2007 after ditching Oceania in search of tougher competition, the pressure is on.

The popularity of the sport in Australia has been rising steadily since the Socceroos ended a 32-year drought by qualifying for the 2006 World Cup and winning the Asian Cup on home soil would be a major shot in the arm for the code.

But an early exit for a team that made the final four years ago and was vying with Japan as favourites would be a major setback.

“The knowledge that we’re in knockout mode now, the pressure increases on everyone,” Australia coach Ange Postecoglou told reporters on Wednesday.

“You don’t get an extra chance just because you won your three group games. Previous records are extinguished and we’re all starting from the same place and it comes down to a game of football.”

Australia will start as slight favourites despite suffering a surprise 1-0 loss to South Korea in its final pool match, a result that saw it finish as group runners-up and pitting it against China, who topped its group after winning its three pool matches.

The Australians piled on eight goals in their first two matches but squandered a stack of chances against the Koreans when Postecoglou rested some of his key attackers and Socceroos captain Mile Jedinak sat the game out because of an injury.

Jedinak has been cleared to make his return on Thursday and Postecoglou said all his players had recovered from the group phase.

“We’re expecting a difficult game but we’re well prepared and ready for anything,” Postecoglou said. “If we improve in our performance we’ll be hard to beat.”

China only just scraped into the tournament after a poor qualifying campaign but has been a revelation under French coach Alain Perrin.

“We’ve improved a lot because we have been choosing players who are real fighters and in good condition,” said Perrin, speaking through a translator.

“It’s winter in Beijing now and very cold so we want to win the match so we can stay here.

“We know Australia is a very strong team but we are moving forward as well.”

AMMAN — The100 Cycling Challenge is set to peddle its way through the Jordan Rift Valley as it welcomes racers, competitive cyclists, tri-athletes, recreational riders, families and friends on Friday for the 100km annual event. The event kicks off at 9:30am from the Baptism Site of Jesus Christ and finishes at the Museum at the lowest place on Earth. The event aims to encourage the growth of cycling, promote healthy lifestyle choices, support local tourism and give back to the community.

CANBERRA — Palestine crashed out of its first Asian Cup on Tuesday, determined to learn from the experience of competing with the continent’s elite, but also pleading for a level-playing field in which to do so.

The outsiders made seven changes and produced a gutsy performance in a 2-0 Group D defeat by Iraq in Canberra on Tuesday, its best showing after a 4-0 loss to titleholders Japan in its opener and 5-1 thrashing by Jordan.

Head coach Ahmad Al Hassan said his side, ranked 115th by FIFA, would be better prepared for the 2018 World Cup qualifiers which begin later this year.

“We knew before the tournament that we would play with teams with high FIFA rankings, much higher than ours and we have gained and accumulated a lot of experience for our team for the future,” the former international goalkeeper told reporters.

“There are huge lessons to be learned in such a great tournament like this. The players’ experience having played three times here in Australia is definitely much better than before they came here and this will be reflected in the future.

“This was Palestine’s first participation in this tournament and I think that this is the beginning for Palestinian football, this is not the end.”

Hassan only took charge of the team, recognised by world governing body FIFA in 1998, late last year after Jamal Mahmoud stepped down for personal reasons.

Mahmoud had ensured qualification for the Asian Cup by winning the now defunct AFC Challenge Cup for emerging nations in the Maldives in May.

That memorable victory had been achieved despite six players being blocked from travelling to the Maldives, the Palestine FA said.

The Palestinians say that Israel, which controls coming and going from Gaza and the West Bank, has been restricting the movement of Palestinian athletes and have urged FIFA to step in and hand out sanctions.

Israel cites security concerns for restricting movement between Gaza, controlled by the Islamist group Hamas, and the West Bank, where the Palestinians have limited self-rule.

Hassan said the situation is hindering the development of the sport and could be blamed for his side’s worst record of the 16 finalists in Australia.

“We are the only nation in this tournament that is under occupation,” he bemoaned.

“This means we don’t have the same resources.

“The players from Gaza cannot even play in one place, we have to leave Palestine for training.

“All these factors contributed negatively.”

AMMAN  — Jordan ended its run at the 16th Asian Football Confederation (AFC) Asian Cup currently under way in Australia when it lost to titleholders Japan 2-0 in Melbourne on Tuesday.

“They [Japan] are such a good side, any team that beats them may well win the tournament,” Jordan coach Ray Wilkins said in a pitchside TV interview with Reuters.

“They have a fantastic mixture of youth and experience and I think it will be very hard to beat this team.

“I’m disappointed for our lads because they’ve worked extremely hard but when you play against class, the class will show.”

Japan topped Group D with goals from striker Keisuke Honda and Shinji Kagawa putting it in the quarters with an unbeaten run including 4-0 over Palestine and 1-0 over Iraq.

Iraq took second spot after it beat first-time qualifiers Palestine 2-0 in Canberra as Jordan exited in the first round, failing to repeat its quarter-final qualification of 2004 and 2011. 

The event had a total of nine Arab teams among the 16 teams with the top two teams from each of the four groups moved to the quarters. 

Australia and South Korea qualified from Group A as Oman and Kuwait went home, Uzbekistan and China moved on from Group B as Saudi Arabia and North Korea were eliminated, Iran and the UAE qualified from Group C as Qatar and Bahrain went out.

The quarter-finals over the weekend will see four-time champs Japan plays the UAE, Iran takes on Iraq, China plays against hosts Australia while South Korea challenges Uzbekistan.

Jordan complicated its chances after its opening 1-0 defeat to Iraq but rebounded to avoid an early exit when substitute striker Hamza Dardour ended an 11-match unbeaten run and scored four goals in the 5-1 win over Palestine.

Dardour currently leads the scorers list and became the fourth player in AFC Asian Cup history to score four goals in a single game, joining Iranian duo Behtash Fariba and Ali Daei’ and Bahrain’s Ismail Abdullatif.

Since first taking part in Asian Cup qualifiers in 1971, this was Jordan’s third time at the Asian Cup finals.

AMMAN — The Jordan Olympic Committee (JOC) released the shortlists for the 2014 Black Iris Sports Awards and for the first time, two categories have already been decided with the expert panel revealing that the winners of the Best Sportswoman and the Best Young Sports Achiever – Female awards should be named unchallenged, leaving three categories to be decided through a public vote, according to a statement from the JOC News Service.

Rana Qubbaj’s achievement in winning gold in the World Jujitsu Masters won her the Best Sportswoman award and youngster Eman Al Adayleh, who qualified to the Youth Olympics, won the Best Young Sports Achiever – Female award as the feats were deemed unsurpassable achievements for their categories.

With a new and improved format for selecting the final names to be put to the public vote, the anticipation has been growing since it was confirmed that the expert panel of prominent sports media figures would meet on Sunday.

The awards recognise the best sporting achievers from the past 12 months.

The panel decided from a long list made up of nominations submitted by the National Sporting Federations and then whittled down to three names for each of the three remaining undecided categories with the public now taking centre stage.

Starting later this week, the three shortlists will be posted onto the JOC’s Official website and Facebook page. Votes will be collated with the eventual winners to be announced alongside the two names already revealed at a gala dinner in February.

Black Iris Awards categories:

Best Sportsman

Abdel Rahman Al Masatfeh (Karate): Silver at Asian Games

Odai Al Hindawi (Boxing): Silver at the Asian Games

Mohammad Salameh (Muay Thai): Bronze at Asian Beach Games, Gold in Arab Championship

Best Sportswoman

Rana Qubbaj (Jujitsu): Gold at the World Jujitsu Masters (winner)

Best Young Achiever – Male

Obadah Al Kisbeh (Boxing): Bronze at Asian Games

Hamzeh Qattan (Taekwondo): Silver at World Youth Championships

Zaid Al Halawani (Taekwondo): Gold at World Junior Championships

Best Young Achiever – Female

Eman Al Adayleh (Taekwondo): Qualified for Youth Olympic Games (winner)

Best Paralympic Athlete

Moutaz Al Juniadi (Weightlifting): Gold at World Championships, Silver at Paralympic Asian Games

Khetam Abu Awad (Table Tennis): Silver at World Championships, Bronze at Parlaympic Asian Games

Abdel Kareem Khattab (Weightlifting): Gold at Asian Paralympic Games

AMMAN — Before the fight for this year’s Premier Basketball League starts on the weekend, Tuesday’s matches are decisive as Orthodoxi faces titleholders Applied Science University (ASU) and Riyadi plays Ittihad.

The stage was postponed last week amid the snowstorm that brought all activities to a halt. Teams have now resumed competition where the bottom four are playing a round of their own to decide the two teams to be relegated. Jalil and Gazzet Hashem lead Nashama and Awdeh.

As for the top four, Orthodoxi are unbeaten after they scored two wins over Riyadi 97-85 and Ittihad 90-82. Ittihad upset ASU 99-91, ASU beat Riyadi 83-64, while Riyadi have not won any games.

The top two teams will advance to the best-of-five finals for the title, while the third and fourth will play the best-of-three play-offs for third place.

The top four advanced to the current round after the preliminary stage ended with ASU in the lead, followed by Orthodoxi, Riyadi and Ittihad.

The season’s first basketball competition was won by ASU, who beat Ittihad Schools for the Jordan Cup title. The knockout competition saw Ittihad oust Riyadi 78-77 in the semis as ASU ousted Orthodoxi 92-65.

The Jordan Cup has seen Riyadi win in 2002, 2011 and 2012, Fastlink won four consecutive seasons 2003-2006, Orthodoxi in 2007, Zain in 2008, ASU in 2010, 2013 and 2014.

Observers hope the regression that affected the basketball scene over the past few years can be reversed and bring the zeal of competition to Jordan’s second most popular sport.

Last season, ASU beat Ittihad to win the Premier Basketball League for the second consecutive and fourth time, while Riyadi won third place after beating Kulieh. Orthodoxi finished fifth.

In 2011, Orthodoxi ended a 10-year drought and won their record 22nd league title when they beat titleholders ASU.

The League which started in 1952 has had 58 editions with eight teams crowned champion. It was cancelled in three seasons and discontinued once. Orthodoxi have won 22 times, Ahli 21, Zain-Fastlink six times, ASU four times, Jazira-Aramex twice, Urdun, Watany and the Electricity Co. once each.

AMMAN — Jordan plays Japan on Tuesday in a decisive Group D match at the 16th Asian Football Confederation (AFC) Asian Cup currently under way in Australia.

The 11am Amman local time match is crucial for Jordan who hopes to repeat its quarter-final qualification from 2004 and 2011.

“There has not been an upset at this tournament yet, but there is a first time for everything,” Jordan coach Ray Wilkins told reporters in Australia on Friday.

Few give Jordan a chance though and the tournament’s big guns have progressed with relative ease from the other pools, but former England midfielder Wilkins believes it is time for a surprise Down Under, according to Reuters.

“Our expectations are obviously a game that is going to be extremely tough against a very, very good side,” Wilkins said.

“Japan have a number of very good players but we have prepared ourselves for what will be a very tough game.”

A win will secure Jordan’s qualification as hopes of advancing to the quarters this time still hangs in the balance with the Palestine-Iraq match being played at the same time. Japan leads the group after it beat first-time qualifiers Palestine 4-0 and Iraq 1-0.

“I think obviously it is important that we are still in the game for 55 minutes to an hour,” Wilkins told Reuters.

“If we go gung-ho against the Japanese it could be extremely difficult because they are a very, very good side. We will be cautious and with every opportunity we get to attack them we will attack them.”

Jordan went down 1-0 to Iraq in its opening match, but rebounded with a 5-1 win over Palestine to avoid an early exit when substitute striker Hamza Dardour scored four goals to end an 11-match unbeaten run.

Dardour, who was described as a player with the “strongest pair of legs” by commentators in the AFC, said: “It does not matter who plays, the team’s result is what is important. Japan is a strong team but nothing is impossible.”

Jordan beat Japan 2-1 last year in World Cup qualifiers.

Since first taking part in Asian Cup qualifiers in 1971, this is Jordan’s third time at the Asian Cup finals.

Jordan is now 93rd in the latest FIFA World Rankings while group leaders Japan are 54th, Iraq 114th and Palestine 115th.

Substitute Reza Ghoochannejhad scored an injury-time goal to lift Iran to a 1-0 win over the UAE and top spot in Group C at the Asian Cup on Monday.

Despite a free-flowing game, and a virtuoso performance by the UAE playmaker Omar Abdulrahman, neither side could find a breakthrough until Ghoochannejhad’s late strike helped Asia’s top-ranked team avoid a likely quarter-final showdown with Japan.

The UAE appealed for offside when Ghoochannejhad pounced on a ball that had ricocheted off teammate Andranik Teymourian and directed

 his header into the top corner from close range. However, television replays indicated the striker had just stayed onside.

“The spirit is great in our team, [the] chemistry is amazing,” said Ghoochannejhad. “Right now everybody is happy but we have to focus on our upcoming games.”

Iran will face the runners-up of Group D, likely to be Iraq or Jordan, in the quarter-final at Canberra on Friday, while the UAE will likely face Japan in Sydney.

The UAE had already secured its quarter-final place with wins over Qatar and Bahrain in its first two games, and was unlucky to not get the draw it needed to top the group from Iran on goal difference.

“Sometimes you play good and you lose, but sometimes also you don’t play good and you win,” said the UAE coach Madhi Ali. “We have to forget this game. We lost, but we did not lose the qualification, and now we have to concentrate on our game against Japan.

“We don’t have any problem playing with Japan or any other team.”
The UAE’s chief playmaker Abdulrahman created several chances in the best individual performance of the tournament so far as he frequently skipped past bemused Iranian defenders and picked out teammates with his wide range of passing.

Both teams played with little caution as they looked for the crucial opening goal and the UAE’s Khamis Esmaeel almost delivered it with a powerful long-range strike that went just past the post with Iran goalkeeper Alireza Haghighi beaten in the fifth minute.

Iran quickly recovered from the UAE’s bright start and had a chance to take the lead in the 17th minute but defender Morteza Pouraliganji missed with his headed shot when it seemed easier to score.

Abdulrahman then produced a teasing run from the edge of the box and beat four Iranian defenders before the diminutive midfielder was tackled by Vahid Amiri as he honed in on goal.

Just before half-time Iran’s Azmoun Sardar raced to the backpost to meet a corner kick, which had been flicked on by Teymourian, and his goal-bound header hit the chest of a UAE defender and deflected wide.

The game stretched further in the second half with the UAE’s Ali Mabkhout missing a couple of good chances to add to his three tournament goals so far, including one in 14 seconds against Bahrain.

Iran grew increasingly desperate and coach Carlos Quieroz introduced stars Ashkan Dejagah and Ghoochannejhad late in the second half in search of a breakthrough.

With full time closing in former Charlton Athletic striker Ghoochannejhad popped up to clinch the win for Iran, despite the pleas of the UAE defence for offside.

At Sydney, Sayed Jafaar produced a stunning long-range strike in the 82nd minute to lift Bahrain to a 2-1 victory over Qatar for its first win of the tournament.

Earlier, Sayed Shubber had produced a smart turn and finish past a host of Qatari defenders to score in the 35th minute, before Hasan Al Haydos equalised for Qatar from a free kick in the second half.

It ended a disappointing tournament for 2014 Gulf Cup champions Qatar, which lost all three games to finish bottom of the group.

“When you miss chances, it is due to many things,” said Qatar coach Djamal Belmadi. “It is partly luck, concentration and quality of the player.

“From my experiences as a player, when you create a lot of chances and do not score, you usually lose the game.”

FIFA presidential candidate Prince Ali had no intention of running for football’s top job but felt compelled to stand by fellow officials keen for change at the world governing body.

The 39-year-old prince announced his candidacy earlier this month and told Australia’s SBS that it was his love of the sport that will lead to him standing against incumbent Sepp Blatter, seeking a fifth term in office, and Frenchman Jerome Champagne in the May election.

“It’s not ideally something that I wanted to do, but I got a lot of encouragement from many people around the world who really care about the sport, not just from officials but also from players,” Ali said on Friday.

“And so after a lot of thinking and so on I decided, ‘OK, let’s go. Let’s do it’. It’s not something that I want to do for a long time but I really think it’s a duty to all football lovers around the world to bring this organisation back.”

The FIFA vice president and head of the Jordan Football Association and West Asian Football Federation, who has the support of UEFA President Michel Platini, did not reveal any specific election pledges but stressed the need for greater transparency.

He again called for Michael Garcia’s report into the bidding processes for the 2018 and 2022 World Cup hosting rights to be made public and hoped it would be done so before the election date.

Big deal

“We made a big deal out of having this investigation in the first place but you cannot do that and then shut the door,” he said.

“Again, with Mark Pieth, for example, we brought him in to look at how to reform the organisation [in 2011]. He made these recommendations and they were not implemented and I think that’s extremely wrong. Why would we do that in the first place?”

The British and American educated prince, who acknowledged the support of his wife and two young children in standing, said he thought FIFA’s recovery after a scandal-hit period where several members had been punished for corruption would be far swifter under his guidance.

“I think that change is inevitable but I’m here to work for a positive change and to really get back to the basics and to use FIFA in a positive way.

“If I’m elected I’m going to have a real programme where we really roll our sleeves up — a 10-year programme for the organisation where everybody is a part of it and ourselves, as the executive, we’re there to implement that programme.

“I’m looking for an outcome where everybody can have confidence, from our players to our fans and all the way to sponsors and we deserve it. All football fans across the world deserve that as well.”