Send-offs, panenkas, tears, near misses, dying-minute equalisers, referee bumbles and the mixed emotions of joy and heartbreak. The Asian Cup went next level on Friday night as two of the tournament favourites were ejected from the quarter finals in dramatic scenes.
The victors, Iraq and the United Arab Emirates, were well deserving of their plaudits as they overcame huge odds to eliminate the might of Iran and Japan.
The final four of this astonishing competition has now been decided – Iraq-South Korea, UAE-Australia – with the second leg of the quarter finals dishing out some unforgettable action.
Japan will hog all the headlines, given their powerhouse status and widely predicted tussle with the Socceroos, but it was in Canberra where the real action unfolded.
For those who missed Iran-Iraq, there’s no way to apologise enough. This was a cracker, filled with controversy, goals, multiple heartfelt celebrations and a banging atmosphere.
In the most tense and exciting match of the Asian Cup so far, it appeared Iran were set for a characteristic 1-0 shutout early on. Sardar Azmoun’s 24th-minute header put them on course, before an Australian decided he wanted a piece of the action.
It’s not the first time Ben Williams has shocked Australian fans, and after his attempts to deny Uzbekistan a place in the knockouts, it’s not even the first time he’s shocked Asian fans.
Yet it was still almost unbelievable when the controversial whistleblower took centre stage, as is his nature, yet again. Williams dished out a yellow to Iran’s Mehrdad Pooladi in the 43rd minute, for what appeared to be either simulation/time wasting or for a late challenge on Iraq keeper Jalal Hassan Hachim.
Williams then stormed off, quite pleased with himself, before realising he had to dish out a red, too, as it was in fact the Iranian’s second offence. In one word – farce.
Iraq soon took advantage of the extra man following the break, Ahmed Yasin slotting through a flurry of Iranian bodies after some sloppy defending to set up some juicy extra minutes.
The stadium was absolutely rocking, the near 19,000 on offer making a much larger din than the 46,000 in a 53,000-seater for the Socceroos-China match (the failure to fill capacity for the Socceroos slightly embarrassing).
Younis Mahmoud pounced on a rebounded shot on the 103rd minute to hand Iraq the advantage – producing an entertaining and Samuel Eto’o-esque granddad celebration to top it off – before Morteza Pouraliganji restored parity with a bullet header.
Hero soon turned villain, however, Pouraliganji needlessly diving in on Yaser Kasim and conceding a penalty, the youngster Dhurgham Ismail coolly converting to put Iraq 3-2 ahead.
But Iran just wouldn’t give up, and in the 119th minute, with keeper Alireza Haghighi up for a corner, the two teams played ping-pong in the box – Javad Nekounam and Jalal Hosseini having digs before substitute Reza Ghoochannejhad popped in the equaliser.
Cue, scenes of absolute pandemonium, with the Iranian bench mobbing Reza in delirium.
It was mental, and the extra time tensions concluded with a bit of handbags between the two arch-rivals following a clash between Marwan Hussein and Haghighi.
The penalty shootout was simply epic, and every spot kick was quality after the first two failed to hit the target. There were cool passes into the bottom corners and rifling efforts straight down the middle that Alan Shearer would have been proud of.
But all failed to match a delightful panenka from Younis Mahmoud, who then audaciously tried to get skin from Williams afterwards.
Funnily enough, Mahmoud missed with a similar attempt in the pre-Asian Cup friendly between these two sides.
Finally, the fun had to end, substitute Vahid Amiry hitting his effort against the post and Iraqi defender Salam Shakir converting the winner – the 16th of the shootout.
It was truly one of the best football matches to be played on Australian soil, and those who attended in Canberra are excused for feeling pretty damn smug about it right now.
The sideshow, depending on your favouritism, saw UAE end Japan’s hopes of a fifth Asian Cup gong in another dramatic script. They bombarded the Japanese in the first 20 minutes, and were rewarded when Ali Mabkhout expertly thumped past Eiji Kawashima in the seventh minute.
Omar Abdulrahman was again impressive for the Emiratis, his one-touch passes a joy to behold. Though he’ll have to up his game off the ball to make it to the top, his laziness genes won’t cut it in most European leagues.
Everyone had expected Japan to easily stride through to a semi-final with Australia, without even witnessing the Samurai Blue get out of second gear during the group stages.
Still, UAE sat back after that early goal and were duly punished, substitute Gaku Shibasaki combining with Keisuke Honda for a wonderful bit of magic to equalise in the 81st minute. From there Japan went Super Saiyan, though forgot to tell Shinji Kagawa – the diminutive playmaker striking wide with the goal gaping in the dying seconds of normal time.
Japan continued to enjoy the bulk of possession in extra time but couldn’t find a winner, and penalties again prevented fans from different time zones getting some sleep, finally having a morning shower or joining the family for dinner.
Honda began proceedings with an absolute fizzer over the bar, belying his undeniable skill set, before Omar Abdulrahman showed him the goods with a very cheeky panenka of his own. You could watch that forever.
Kagawa was the unfortunate soul to bomb out, joining Honda in the disappointing ranks as he hit his effort against the post. Ismail Ahmed calmly slotted his effort past Kawashima, and another unforgettable upset was complete.
Emirati fans were in absolute hysterics, before calming down at the end to enjoy the celebrations. Yet another example of this Asian Cup showing Australians what football is all about.
So the semi-finals will see a 2004 rematch between Iraq and South Korea – which Iraq won on penalties – and Australia welcome the UAE to Newcastle, just three months after a 0-0 stalemate.
But for now this isn’t about Australia, it’s about football, and the Asian Cup upsets. Forget the upcoming semi-final and the potential of a maiden title for just one more day, because this moment belongs to the underdogs, who took this tournament to the next level.
Follow Janek on Twitter @JanekSpeight
Micheli
Guest
I totally agree i dont know why people are against Ben Williams on the red card he gave to that Iranian player. An obvious dive by that player. Ben Williams is the kind of referee who fits in perfectly with big teams a 100% Red no excuses. This was a good article except the writer should have decreased the amount of criticism and I dont get why he would say Younis scores an amazing Paneka and then tries to get skin from Ben Williams dumbest thing i've heard. Iraq deserved the win and best of luck to the Asian Legend Younis Mahmoud I am pretty impressed with this guy had no club for an year and is scoring and running the full game.
Kaks
Roar Guru
yes newy, perhaps they will. However how many dives have we seen in this whole tournament that went unpunished? Unfair to single out one nation and their team which ultimately cost them the match and thus their chance of winning the tournament to make an 'example' when it doesnt happen anywhere else
Kaks
Roar Guru
Yes simulation needs to be stamped out, however will Ben Williams, or any other referee, do the same next time a player simulates? How many players simulated before this incident and were cautioned? There is zero consistency in refereeing and Ben Williams was all too happy and too quick to dish out any sort of card throughout this whole tournament.
Greg
Guest
Yep. He kicks the goalie; then fakes victim of an assault, and then time wastes with his team 1 Nil up. 3 yellows in my book. I take it the criticism of Williams was he was apparently not immediately aware the player was on a yellow. I have no problem with that, it was written on his card, and in any event the referee should adjudge the decision at hand, not with an eye on the past.
The Bear
Guest
Japan's team was hamstrung by their coach and therefore their governing body. But yes Emirates on the flip side have had a lot of positive investment into their game
AZ_RBB
Guest
It seems like the consensus is that Japan would have provided us with a much bigger challenge than UAE will on Tuesday. But if Japan were as lethargic and exhausted as they were the other night, imagine their condition in the semi. Yes Japan have the quality of paper but as Nick alludes to above, they no longer seem capable of producing it in big games. In that sense I think UAE will be just as much of a challenge as Japan would have been had they qualified. The final will be contested between the two best teams. To argue the contrary is illogical.
nickoldschool
Guest
Japan have become friendlies and qualifying phases world champs but they struggle in wc finals and this time in the much less contested continental showpiece. Imo its psychological more than anything. With the intrinsic quality they have they should dominating the continent with german ruthlessness. Australia have a golden opportunity to bring home their first major trophy and I hope they dont miss it. 2 home games against teams who are at your level or below to get gold doesnt happen top often in world football.
newy
Guest
Iran were hard done by, maybe they will think twice about doing a pathetic dive next time !!
newy
Guest
diving is the worst thing so he got red and maybe changed the game good i say , hopefully we get the South Korea rematch with different result of course !!
The Bear
Guest
Agreed all & sundry.
Waz
Guest
Put the controversy aside for a moment and he actually had a good game, he played advantage consistently and his refereeing contributed to a great game.
Declan
Guest
Can’t understand how a known ‘card happy’ referee is rated Australia’s best. ‘Card happy' refereeing is generally either poor game control (lack of rapport with players) or ‘look at moi’ grandstanding. Of course, there is the odd dirty game where (more in sorrow than in anger etc) the cards have to pile up. The Iran-Iraq game on Friday night wasn't dirty. Iran can feel hard done by.
Cunny Funts
Guest
Pooladi was already on a yellow card. The onus is squarely on the player not to transgress for the rest of the match. Be it blatant simulation or time-wasting (as we don't know the ref's specific reason for showing the card), it was justified, because either way that player wasn't playing fair. The ref's oversight of not immediately following up the 2nd yellow with the red was admittedly not a good look, but since the red card was subsequently shown and the player sent off the field before play restarted, this oversight had no bearing on the outcome of the match. Therefore to call it a "farce" is too strong a criticism in my opinion, but this is Janek's opinion so it's fine for him to express it. However Janek, you've overstepped the mark by presuming to know the motivations of the ref (when you cannot possibly know this, and it is not your opinion) in 2 instances: 1 - The ref carded the player to big-note himself "...the controversial whistleblower took centre stage, as is his nature..." 2 - The ref's carding of the player gave the ref some sort of personal satisfaction "Williams then stormed off, quite pleased with himself..." Very sloppy writing! I accept that the pursuit of consistent refereeing is ongoing, but really the only responsible way to approach a controversial decision like this is to accept it and get on with the game. Please consider this next time you write, and only write what you personally can substantiate. Apart from that, thanks for your write up of a great match.
Waz
Guest
Agreed
Waz
Guest
And to put the Suncorp crowds in to perspective there were 47,500 at the RL Four Nations double header recently, the Soceroos achieved just above and just below that figure in a period of five days. And dont see this through "code war" lenses either - all three attendances are great at a stadium that is notoriously difficult to fill to capacity (which has never yet been achieved). There aren't 52,500 (official capacity) publicly available seats at Suncorp - there's a Considerable amount allocated to corporate areas, then there's a few hundred standing positions behind both goals which weren't available for sale similar to the grass banks in Newcastle, and then we have the reduction caused by the massive press box. So put the boot in on the pitch by all means but Brisbane supporters responded fantasticly to this tournament and turned out on mass putting nearly 75,000 through the gates last weekend. Bring it all back - but next time lets have a soccer-specific stadium we can call "ours" :)
AZ_RBB
Guest
Mahmoud's penalty was unbelievable. All the talk was about how he tried a paneka earlier in the month and failed miserably. People wondering if his confidence had been shot and then he had to take a do or die penalty against Iran. Walks up, does another paneka and scores. Mind absolutely blown. What a moment. What a player!
Uncle Junior
Guest
Thanks, Jack. It's amazing how many times this has to be mentioned over the past few weeks - whole sections of the stands on the wing (prime position) are converted for use by international media. It happens at every international tournament I'm shocked we have repeat this again and again. Do journalists not do any background reading?
langou
Roar Guru
Yeah I agree with that. Got hit in the gut and went down holding his head. Ben Williams told him to get up. He didn't. Yellow card, correct decision.
DT
Guest
I actually agree with your take on the Willoiams decision. If he didn't already have a yellow, no one would have batted an eyelid at the yellow for diving/time wasting. I was going to write more, but realised you pretty much summed it up, I'll just add a +1 then.
Me Too
Guest
In Williams defence it was a definite yellow card offence and we should see more cards dished out for such unsporting tactics. Whether the player has already recorded an offence should be neither here nor there. If more referees dealt with this sort of behaviour consistently it could be wiped out. That a player already on a yellow would risk such behaviour shows the level of contempt for fair play that they hold and suggests that certain players think it either an irrelevance or a normal part of proceedings. Great game, and fantastic result for Iraq. And as for Japan, unlucky as it gets, buts that football. Let's hope the UAE have used up all their luck. Hoping the Soccerroos get their chance at retribution against South Korea - very interested in seeing the team line ups - but we will go in with exactly the same game plan of course - Ang only has and wants one, and at this stage who could argue - the boys have done very well.