Asian Cup 2015: Quarter-Final Scores, Results, Updated Draw and Schedule
The knockout stages of the 2015 Asian Cup are upon us.
Korea Republic, Australia, Iraq and United Arab Emirates have battled their way through the quarter-finals and into the final four, with holders Japan exiting the competition to a well-drilled UAE side.
Check out the full list of quarter-final results and tournament schedule below.
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Friday, Jan. 23 Recap
| Iran 3-3 Iraq (AET, Iraq win 7-6 on penalties). | Canberra Stadium |
| Japan 1-1 United Arab Emirates (AET, UAE win 5-4 on penalties). | ANZ Stadium |
Iraq and the United Arab Emirates worked through dramatic penalty shootout wins over Iran and Japan on Friday, producing two surprise entries into the tournament's semi-finals.
Iraq eventually beat Iran 7-6 on penalties after the sides played out a terrific 3-3 extra-time draw during Friday's first Asian Cup quarter-final.
It was Iran who took the lead with a brilliant header from Sardar Azmoun. He rose well from Varja Ghafoori's cross, providing Carlos Queiroz's men with an advantage after 24 minutes. However, things were destined to quickly turn sour.
Referee Ben Williams provided Iran's Mehrdad Pooladi with two questionable yellow cards to see him sent off two minutes before the break. The official had to be prompted to show Pooladi the red after producing his second caution, suggesting he wasn't in complete control.
Ahmed Yasin equalised 10 minutes into the second half, but the real drama was yet to come. Iraq finally took the lead three minutes into extra time when Younis Mahmoud's diving header beat Alireza Haghighi in the Iranian net, noted by the tournament's Twitter feed:
Iran never stopped believing and got themselves back in the game with a goal from Morteza Pouraliganji. At this point, the drama of the situation began to show:
The match appeared to be decided when Williams handed Iraq a penalty in the closing minutes. Ismail Dhurgham converted to provide his side with a 3-2 advantage. With one minute left on the clock, substitute Reza Ghoochannejhad sent the Iran bench into raptures with an instinctive header to send the tie to penalties.
In keeping with the rest of the match, both sides missed their first kicks. Ehsan Hajsafi and Saad Abdulameer were the culprits for Iran and Iraq respectively, before both sides dispatched their next six to make it equal in sudden death.
Substitute Vahid Amiri then hit a post for Iran, before Iraq secured their semi-final place with a cool penalty from Salam Shakir. An incredible match—which yielded 12 bookings, per Soccerway—but ultimately Iraq did enough to progress.
You can view the highlights of this incredible match below, per the Asian Cup's official YouTube channel:
Later in the day, United Arab Emirates slayed the giants of Japan with a penalty shootout win after a 1-1 extra time draw in Sydney.
It was the Arab side who established control in the early stages, taking the lead through a fantastic Ali Ahmed Mabkhout strike. He latched onto Amer Abdulrahman's long pass, controlled brilliantly and volleyed home his fourth goal of the tournament.
Japan played slowly for the most part, providing a disciplined UAE side the chance to remain organised. It took until 81 minutes for the tournament favourites to level, with substitute Gaku Shibasaki smashing Keisuke Honda's flick into the back of Majed Naser's net.
Javier Aguirre's side continued to dominate in extra time, highlighted by the tournament's feed:
The tournament holders were unable to find a route through, and for the second time in two matches on Friday, penalties loomed.
Remarkably, it was Honda—who was Japan's most important player throughout previous ties—who skied the first spot-kick over the bar. Abdulrahman responded by scoring a Panenka, but Khamis Esmail's miss saw the scores level at 2-2 after three penalties each.
Both sides netted their next two efforts, but Shinji Kagawa hit a post in sudden death to hand UAE the opportunity to win.
Abdulaziz Hussain stepped up, and unbelievably, knocked the holders out. UAE now progress to face hosts Australia in the semi-finals. Be sure to watch check the highlights below:
Here's the remaining schedule:
| Jan. 22 | Korea Republic 2-0 Uzbekistan | 6.30 p.m. | 7.30 a.m. | 2.30 a.m. |
| Jan. 22 | China 0-2 Australia | 9.30 p.m. | 10.30 a.m. | 5.30 a.m. |
| Jan. 23 | Iran 3-3 Iraq (AET, Iraq win 7-6 on penalties). | 5.30 p.m. | 6.30 a.m. | 1.30 a.m. |
| Jan. 23 | Japan 1-1 United Arab Emirates (AET, UAE win 5-4 on penalties.) | 8.30 p.m. | 9.30 a.m. | 4.30 a.m. |
| Jan. 26 | Korea Republic vs. Iraq | 8 p.m. | 9. a.m. | 4 a.m. |
| Jan. 27 | Australia vs. UAE | 8 p.m. | 9. a.m. | 4 a.m. |
| Jan. 30 | Loser of Semi-Final 1 vs. Loser of Semi-Final 2 | 8 p.m. | 9. a.m. | 4 a.m. |
| Jan. 31 | Winner of Semi-Final 1 vs. Winner of Semi-Final 2 | 8 p.m. | 9. a.m. | 4 a.m. |
Australia will certainly be outlined as favourites at this point, although United Arab Emirates have underlined their credentials with the upset of the tournament so far. A cracking set of semi-final ties await.
Thursday, Jan. 22 Recap
| Korea Republic 2-0 Uzbekistan (AET) | Melbourne Rectangular Stadium |
| China 0-2 Australia | Brisbane Stadium |
Australia and Korea Republic became the first sides to confirm their place in the semi-finals of the Asian Cup after respectively beating China and Uzbekistan on Thursday.
The Aussies booked their progress with a 2-0 win over China in Brisbane, providing the host nation with further hope of securing the trophy for the first time.
Tim Cahill, so often the Socceroos' hero over the years, once again delivered on the big stage for his side. Despite a slow start, Australia dominated possession in the first-half without seriously testing Wang Dalei in the Chinese net.
The deadlock was broken two minutes into the second half. China failed to properly deal with a corner as Ivan Franjic headed the ball back into the area from a fluffed clearance. Cahill met the pass with an acrobatic bicycle kick, beating Dalei from close-range for one of the goals of the tournament so far, highlighted by the tournament's official Twitter account:
Marc Bresciano should have doubled the host nation's lead 10 minutes later, but he fired a simple opportunity over the bar after smart work from Mathew Leckie. Cahill extended the lead soon after, however, with a trademark header from Jason Davidson.
Australia will either face Japan or the United Arab Emirates in their semi-final clash on Jan. 27.
Earlier in the day, it took two extra-time goals from Son Heung-Min to send Korea Republic beyond Uzbekistan in a hard-fought 2-0 win, noted on the Asian Cup feed:
The opening 90 minutes was by no means a dull affair. Both sides kept the ball moving quickly, creating a number of chances to steal victory before the additional 30 minutes. Uzbek goalkeeper Ignatiy Nesterov took control of his area and made a number of fine saves to halt the South Korean attack, who always appeared the most likely to make the difference.
With that said, Uzbekistan held a palpable threat of their own. Disaster almost struck for South Korea when goalkeeper Kim Jin-Hyeon played a rushed clearance off his nearest defender, the rebound bouncing just clear of an open goal.
Incisive wing play from Sardor Rashidov saw him break clear of the Korean defence before delivering an excellent cross to Lutfulla Turaev, who missed an open goal with his diving header, per the tournament's feed:
Nam Tae-Hee almost immediately punished Uzbekistan's miss after finding space and time in the opposition's box. The ball bobbled as it was rolled to him for a simple side-footed finish, a cruel stroke of bad luck, per the competition's social feed:
Son, who continues to prove his quality with Bayer Leverkusen in the Bundesliga, took advantage of his moment to secure the win in extra time. Uzbekistan failed to clear 11 minutes into the first period, Kim Jin-Su stole the ball and played a deflected cross to Son, who squeezed his header beyond Nesterov.
A blistering run from substitute Cha Du-Ri set Son up for his second. Nesterov had no chance this time, with Son smashing his shot into the top of the net after finding himself free in the area. The striker appeared to hurt himself in the process of scoring and left the match on a stretcher, though, creating a potential worry for South Korea moving forward.
You can see the full highlights below:
Australia continue to show real goalscoring threat and should be earmarked as the most likely candidates to topple favourites Japan for the crown. With that said, Son's lethality provides South Korea with the kind of quality needed to win tight matches, as witnessed on Thursday.
Uli Stielike's men will be confident of moving beyond Iran or Iraq in their semi-final, outlining them as dark horses for Asian Cup glory.
