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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
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