Canada 5 Honduras 0
June 17 – Canada over the past six years have forced their way into Concacaf’s elite but have so often flattered to deceive. They are the team everyone quite likes but have never delivered the championship title their talent screams for. Re-adjust everyone.
January 12 – Australian coach Graham Arnold (pictured) expects his Socceroos to put Syria to the sword in their final group B game after Australia’s commanding 3-0 win over Palestine on Friday. In 2017 Australia eliminated Syria in a dramatic play-off 3-2 on aggregate from the World Cup finals in Russia.
January 12 – Carlos Queiroz and Iran will not take Vietnam lightly as the sky-high favourites in the Asian Cup 2019 seek three points and qualification from Group D.
China 2 Philippines 0
January 11 – Two goals superbly taken goals from sparkling Chinese starlet Wu Lei were ultimately the difference between China, who have qualified for the round of 16 with a group game to go, and a battling Philippines who have yet to win a point or score a goal in their debut Asian Cup finals.
Australia 3 Palestine 0
January 11 – Defending champions Australia bounced back from their 1-0 defeat against Jordan to breeze past Palestine 3-0 and climb to second spot in Group B on three points.
January 11 – Bernd Stange became the second national team manager to be sacked at the Asian Cup 2019 last night after his Syrian team went down 2-0 to Jordan, who are rapidly becoming the surprise package of the tournament.
By Paul Nicholson
January 11- Qatar-based pan-regional broadcaster beIN Sport has written a second letter to Serie A urging new CEO Luigi De Siervo to change the venue of the Italian Super Cup final that will be played in Jeddah next week to a location outside of Saudi Arabia.
January 11 – Las Vegas police investigating a rape allegation against Cristiano Ronaldo have reportedly sent a warrant to authorities in Italy, where the Portuguese star plays for Juventus, requesting a DNA sample.
January 11 – Forget legal letters, World Trade Organisation petitions, and multi-stakeholder pressure groups, beIN Sport may have at last found the killer application to end beoutQ’s rampant piracy of their TV output – Jose Mourinho.
January 11 – UEFA have banned Bayern Munich star Thomas Muller for two matches after he was sent off against Ajax in the final game of the Champions League group stage against Ajax.
January 11 – Matches from the second tier of Spanish football are to be broadcast on Youtube with English commentary in a bid to boost the division’s international appeal.
January 11 – Sticker albums, the staple collectable and ‘education’ tool for growing football fans, are back in fashion. Panini have announced it will almost double revenue on the back of the Russia 2018 World Cup to about €1 billion.
India 0 UAE 2
By Samindra Kunti
January 10 – Hosts the United Arab Emirates secured a vital 2-0 win against India in clinical style to get their Asian Cup campaign back on track, but they were left to sweat until the last minute of the game by a resourceful and hard-working India.
January 10 – Alberto Zaccheroni said that the UAE were now growing in the right direction after their 2-0 win against India, but admitted that the Indians will be a force to be reckoned with in the future.
January 10 – Marcello Lippi has defended his tenure at the helm of the Chinese national team, citing the emergence of young players as a long-term benefit. On Friday three points against the Philippines will ensure China’s progress to the knockout stages of the 2019 Asian Cup.
January 10 – South Africa have reacted with anger and bewilderment over the rejection of their bid to stage this summer’s African Nations Cup, dismissing suggestions of sour grapes and saying due process was not applied.