Thu, 28 Oct, 2021
Bengaluru: Sunil Chhetri has insisted that India have improved dramatically since the 2011 AFC Asian Cup as the forward prepares to lead his country into the 2019 edition in the United Arab Emirates in January.
Chhetri was 26 when the South Asians competed in the continental competition in Qatar just under eight years ago, when the Blue Tigers were eliminated in the group stage after suffering heavy defeats to Australia, Bahrain and Korea Republic.
www.the-afc.com/en/more/photo/chhetri_india_jpg.html
Thu, 28 Oct, 2021
Dhaka: India stayed perfect while Maldives roared as both teams advanced to the final of the 2018 SAFF Cup on Wednesday.
Defending champions India saw off Pakistan's challenge 3-1 in their semi-final while Maldives produced their best performance so far to defeat Nepal 3-0 in their last four tie at the Bangabandhu National Stadium in Dhaka.
It will be a rematch between the two teams on Saturday, with India having beaten Maldives 2-0 in their Group B clash earlier in the tournament.
After a tight first half, India took the lead three minutes into the restart with Manvir Singh scoring with a right footed shot into the bottom left corner.
Boosted by the goal, India pressed forward and Manvir Singh doubled their lead in the 69th minute when he rifled the ball into the top right corner of the Pakistan goalmouth.
Sumit Passi headed home India's third in the 84th minute before Hassan Bashir scored a consolation for Pakistan two minutes from full time.
Thu, 28 Oct, 2021
Kuala Lumpur: In the era of Lionel Messi and Cristiano Ronaldo, to be the third highest scoring international footballer in the world is no mean feat, and for an Asian player to be within one goal of Messi’s 65 goals for a national team is a record our latest inductee to the “Asian Icons” list should be proud of.
As he turns 34 today, we celebrate the career of Sunil Chhetri, India’s most capped player and all-time top goalscorer.
Thu, 28 Oct, 2021
As teams step up their preparations for the 2019 AFC Asian Cup, we look at those who stood out during the most recent round of international friendlies.
The international break saw as many as 11 fixtures bringing 2019 AFC Asian Cup participating sides head to head, while Saudi Arabia, the UAE, Japan and Korea Republic opted to face opponents from the Americas.
Non-qualified Asian teams including Kuwait, Malaysia, Laos and Indonesia were all in action too. Looking back at 10 days of international football, here are five players who impressed for their respective countries.
Thu, 28 Oct, 2021
Doha: Hassan Al Haydos celebrated his 100th international match in goalscoring fashion as Qatar registered a resounding 3-0 victory over Palestine in a friendly at the Khalifa International Stadium in Doha on Tuesday.
The Qatar skipper played an integral part in his team getting off to a roaring start as he provided the assist from which Almoez Ali struck in the third minute.
Akram Afif made it 2-0 in the 19th minute before Al Haydos capped a memorable night for himself by scoring the third in the 29th as Qatar added to the 1-0 win over China PR last Friday.
Thu, 28 Oct, 2021
Osaka: Several of the Continent's top teams took their next step towards the AFC Asian Cup UAE 2019 with friendly matches on a busy night of action on Tuesday.
Japan, Islamic Republic of Iran, Qatar and the United Arab Emirates all scored wins while Korea Republic earned a commendable draw against South American giants Chile.
Japan gave Costa Rica the runaround in a 3-0 home victory as Hajime Moriyasu got off to a winning start as head coach of the Blue Samurai.
Sho Sasaki's header was turned into his own goal by Bryan Oviedo after 16 minutes before second-half goals from Takumi Minamino and substitute Junya Ito settled a one-sided friendly in Osaka as four-time champions Japan kicked off their preparations for the AFC Asian Cup UAE 2019.
Thu, 28 Oct, 2021
Abu Dhabi: The Local Organising Committee for the AFC Asian Cup UAE 2019 are calling on all amateur footballers to play for the pride of their countries in a prestigious once-in-a-lifetime community tournament that will replicate the 24-nation AFC Asian Cup tournament in January.
Football fans are invited to get involved, ahead of the largest sporting event ever hosted in the Middle East, by signing up for the fun-filled seven-a-side tournament which offers players the added prestige of representing one of the 24 competing Asian nations.
With the tournament mirroring the group stage and knockout format of the AFC Asian Cup UAE 2019, football fans will come together throughout the country, as they battle to be crowned champions of the Asian Community Cup. Registration is now open to everybody aged 18 and older.