Thu, 28 Oct, 2021
Kuala Lumpur: We are back for with goals, appearances and trophies as we answer your questions in the latest round of Asian Football Trivia.
After two interesting rounds of trivia, you have upped your game with trickier questions which had us digging deeper into our record books to come back with the answers. There are goal scorers, record appearance makers and successful nations in this round of questions and answers.
So without further ado, let's dive in. Remember to send us your questions for next week via our social media handles and don’t forget to include the hashtag #AskAFT. Enjoy!
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Thu, 28 Oct, 2021
Doha: Scottish football legend Graeme Souness is no stranger to Qatar. The combative midfielder, who played in three editions of the FIFA World Cup, is a regular visitor to the country through his work as a pundit.
The Liverpool icon, who won three European Cups, recently visited the Supreme Committee for Delivery & Legacy’s Legacy Pavilion, where he spoke exclusively to www.sc.qa.
What are your thoughts on the FIFA World Cup™ heading to Qatar in 2022?
For football, Qatar 2022 is great news. It’s only the second World Cup to be hosted in Asia, which doesn’t sound right when you consider the enormous interest in football across the region. The big clubs in England have been reaching out to Asia for a number of years, so it’s fitting the tournament is returning to this part of the world.
Personally, I’m looking forward to Qatar. Many people were concerned about this year’s tournament in Russia, but it has turned out to be an outstanding success. I’m sure it will be a similar story in Qatar.
Qatar is going to host a compact tournament. How important will this be in terms of overall event experience?
The world will see something totally unprecedented in Qatar. It’s amazing that the two farthest stadiums are within an hour of each other. Fans can stay in the same hotel throughout and really enjoy the football – potentially watching two matches a day. It’s fantastic.
Thu, 28 Oct, 2021
Tokyo: Hajime Moriyasu was named as the new manager of the Japanese men's senior national team by the Japan Football Association on Thursday.
The 49-year-old Moriyasu, who in October took over as head coach of the Japanese men's team for the 2020 Tokyo Olympics, fills the void left by Akira Nishino after the Samurai Blue's 2018 FIFA World Cup Round of 16 defeat by Belgium in Japan's sixth World Cup appearance.
Nishino took the reins following the dismissal of predecessor Vahid Halilhodzic in April, two months before the World Cup, and his brief run as Japan coach ended in July when his contract expired.
Moriyasu, who remains as the Under-21 Japan coach, pledged to bring new blood to the top national side.
"There will be generational changes. There will be integration of various generations of players," he told a press conference.
Thu, 28 Oct, 2021
Kuala Lumpur: Asia's most prestigious club competition returns in exactly one month with eight of the continent's finest teams vying for four semi-final spots.
It has been five and a half months since Uzbekistan’s Lokomotiv put five past UAE’s Al Wahda to signal an exciting start to the 2018 AFC Champions League group stage. 112 matches and 334 goals later and we are down to eight contestants for the Continental trophy.
Both sides that got us underway exited the competition at the group stage, with the Uzbeks only missing out on a Knockout Stage spot due to an inferior head-to-head record against Islamic Republic of Iran’s Zobahan who nipped second place in Group B. The big winners from the group were Qatar’s Al Duhail, who became just the fourth team in the AFC Champions League history to collect all 18 points in the group stage.
Thu, 28 Oct, 2021
Seoul: Lee Jae-sung will leave Jeonbuk Hyundai Motors in the K League 1 to join Holstein Kiel in the 2. Bundesliga, ending a four and a half years stint that saw him claim the Best Young Player honours in 2015 and MVP in 2017, while winning three domestic titles across four seasons.
On his way to a second division German club, Lee said he's determined to prove he's made the right choice.
"I've always dreamt of playing overseas, and I felt I was at a point where I needed a challenge in my career," Lee said in a video message released by Jeonbuk. "I wanted to test myself against foreign players."
Lee said he made "an extremely difficult decision" to leave Jeonbuk and added he has nothing but fond memories from his time with the K League 1 club.
"I know I've chosen to go down a difficult path," Lee added. "I'll try to compete with the pride of a K League MVP and prove that I've made the right move."
Thu, 28 Oct, 2021
Dubai: Passionate fan Huraiz Hamad Mohamed Salmeen captured the imagination of the Continent when images of him shedding tears of joy were beamed after the United Arab Emirates defeated defending champions Japan on penalties to seal a place in the 2015 AFC Asian Cup semi-finals.
The glory of being champions, however, was not to be savoured at the end though as UAE lost 2-0 to eventual champions Australia in the semi-finals.
They recovered from their semi-final disappointment to defeat Iraq 3-2 to win the bronze with Salmeen eagerly cheering from the stands.
Four years later, the UAE will host the AFC Asian Cup 2019 with tickets for 51 matches in the 24-team tournament set to go on sale from Monday.
With tickets for the AFC Asian Cup UAE 2019 set to go on sale on July 30, Salmeen shares his thoughts on his favourite team and the warmth and hospitality that awaits the best teams and their fans in the Continent's premier football tournament on January 5-February 1.
Thu, 28 Oct, 2021
Kuala Lumpur: In this week's episode of our summer series, we answer your questions on AFC Champions League successful sides, AFC Asian Cup top scorers and qualification rules for AFC Cup winners.
With plenty of time and little football on show, we continue with Round Two of our weekly knowledge booster on all things Asian football. This week we answer three questions asked by our readers through the various AFC social media channels.
After brushing up on your AFC knowledge, please send us more questions for next week via our social media handles and don’t forget to include the hashtag #AskAFC. Enjoy!