RJB Posted January 10, 2015 Share Posted January 10, 2015 Started today in Australia, and AFC seems to be a Confederation similar to CONCACAF in that they have a lot of weak teams at the bottom. It's interesting that for the last few tournaments, they've given a spot(s) to winners of the Challenge Cup, which is a tournament that features only the lower ranked nations. I'm not sure what something similar would look like in CONCACAF, but it's noteworthy that they are doing a sixteen team tournament. This is by far superior to the twelve team tourney that is the Gold Cup in my opinion, and a similar move to introduce lower ranked teams could be a way to get the Gold Cup up to sixteen teams. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Red and White Posted January 10, 2015 Share Posted January 10, 2015 I'm following the Asian Cup too. Good start so far, with Australia getting a win after a shaky start, South Korea scraping a win too, and generally good goalkeeping in most of the matches. I do agree that AFC is very similar to CONCACAF. It has a few strong teams, lots of middleweight countries, and several weaker sides. But, AFC does strike me as much better run than CONCACAF. For starters, they have the sense to keep the Asian Cup every four years and rotate hosts. I am interested in seeing supporters culture in AFC. If anyone can find pics or content, feel free to share . Highlights: Australia 4 - 1 Kuwait -> http://m.youtube.com/watch?v=h0CCHu5e4YQ South Korea 1 - 0 Oman -> https://m.youtube.com/watch?v=3GL0Z52coew Uzbekistan 1 - 0 North Korea -> https://m.youtube.com/watch?v=aat_RFLz1tQ Saudi Arabia 0 - 1 China -> https://m.youtube.com/watch?v=giiUwsPxYOE Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
SthMelbRed Posted January 12, 2015 Share Posted January 12, 2015 ^Every game is on live TV here. I watched the full Australia-Kuwait game and bits and pieces of all the others played so far. The quality is not up to World Cup or Euro standard, but the games have been pretty good. Iran vs Bahrain last night was very entertaining in the second half (I missed the first). I honestly believe that the Asian Cup is a superior tournament in every aspect to the Gold Cup. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Soccerpro Posted January 12, 2015 Share Posted January 12, 2015 ^Every game is on live TV here. I watched the full Australia-Kuwait game and bits and pieces of all the others played so far. The quality is not up to World Cup or Euro standard, but the games have been pretty good. Iran vs Bahrain last night was very entertaining in the second half (I missed the first). I honestly believe that the Asian Cup is a superior tournament in every aspect to the Gold Cup. I agree there's a much wider talent pool in Asia. We've gotten spanked by obscure Central Asian former soviet Republics in friendlies before. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
aloyol Posted January 12, 2015 Share Posted January 12, 2015 I agree there's a much wider talent pool in Asia. We've gotten spanked by obscure Central Asian former soviet Republics in friendlies before. I don't remember us playing Turkmenistan, Kazakhstan, Kyrgyzstan, Tadjikistan or Uzbekistan. Or did I miss a friendly or two? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Soccerpro Posted January 12, 2015 Share Posted January 12, 2015 I don't remember us playing Turkmenistan, Kazakhstan, Kyrgyzstan, Tadjikistan or Uzbekistan. Or did I miss a friendly or two? Azerbaijan Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
aloyol Posted January 12, 2015 Share Posted January 12, 2015 Azerbaijan Azerbaijan is a West asian country and I don't remember us playing them. But we played Armenia in 2012, another West Asia country. Sorry, I feel like I'm being picky but I wasn't remembering us playing a Central Asia opponent. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
SthMelbRed Posted January 13, 2015 Share Posted January 13, 2015 I believe that both Armenia and Azerbaijan are members of UEFA. If I recall correctly, when the USSR broke up, all of the newly independant states were offered membership in UEFA. Some took it, others felt that they were better off in the AFC. As for this tournament, there look to be about a half a dozen teams that probably feel that they have a shot at winning the cup. If we were to compare AFC and CONCACAF, I'd say that Japan and South Korea are consistently at about the same level as Mexico and the USA. AFC's depth is far better than CONCACAF, though, with any of Australia, Iran, Saudi Arabia, and now, Qatar, having the potential to field a decent side. In the last decade, CONCACAF's only been able to throw up Costa Rica and Honduras as dark horses. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
aloyol Posted January 13, 2015 Share Posted January 13, 2015 I believe that both Armenia and Azerbaijan are members of UEFA. If I recall correctly, when the USSR broke up, all of the newly independant states were offered membership in UEFA. Some took it, others felt that they were better off in the AFC. As for this tournament, there look to be about a half a dozen teams that probably feel that they have a shot at winning the cup. If we were to compare AFC and CONCACAF, I'd say that Japan and South Korea are consistently at about the same level as Mexico and the USA. AFC's depth is far better than CONCACAF, though, with any of Australia, Iran, Saudi Arabia, and now, Qatar, having the potential to field a decent side. In the last decade, CONCACAF's only been able to throw up Costa Rica and Honduras as dark horses. Yup, Georgia, Armenia, Azerbaijan and Kazakhstan, while geographicaly in Asia are UEFA members. Armenia have a decent side nowadays, I think they would have a better chance at qualifyng for the WC by playing in Asia. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
RJB Posted January 19, 2015 Author Share Posted January 19, 2015 With only two matches left in the group stage, there have been no draws so far. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
SthMelbRed Posted January 19, 2015 Share Posted January 19, 2015 I'm going to see the Japan-Jordan match in Melbourne tonight. Should be fun. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
RJB Posted January 23, 2015 Author Share Posted January 23, 2015 Huge shock as Japan is ousted in the quarter-finals by UAE. Continuing to compare AFC to CONCACAF: In the last four editions of each tournament, there have been seven different semi-finalists for the Gold Cup. There have been ten in the Asian Cup. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
SthMelbRed Posted January 23, 2015 Share Posted January 23, 2015 If anybody gets a chance, watch the Iran-Iraq quarter final, particularly extra time and the penalty shootout. Fantastic stuff. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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