The 2007 Asian Cup Final will see Iraq play Saudi Arabia in Jakarta at Gelora Bung Karno Stadium, on Sunday. Iraq came through their semi-final at Bukit Jalil National Stadium in Kuala Lumpur 4-3 in a penalty shoot-out after the teams finished 0-0 after extra time. Saudi Arabia shocked defending champions Japan 3-2 at My Dinh Stadium in Hanoi to set up a final few people could have predicted. Iraq will be appearing in their first ever Asian Cup Final. East Asian powerhouses Japan and South Korea play off for third place on Saturday at Jaka Baring Stadium, Palembang, in Indonesia. Hotels in Bangkok - Bookings Hotels in Kuala Lumpur - Bookings Hotels in Jakarta - Bookings Hotels in Hanoi - Bookings Hotels in Ho Chi Minh - Bookings

Soccerphile columnist Marc Fox picks the bones out of Australia's quarter-final exit from an Asian Cup debut blighted by over-ambition and arrogance. For an exiled Englishman, the goings-on of the past couple of months have followed a painfully familiar recipe. Step one: take a sprinkling of the highest earners from the Premiership off the back of another marathon season. Step two: lavish with unadulterated praise. Step three: prepare poorly. Step four: bake in 30-degree heat until (well and truly) cooked. The result: quarter-final elimination on spot-kicks. Sound familiar? That the vogue in Australian football circles is to decry the incumbent English coaching style only adds salt to the wounds. The contributing factors to the Socceroos' early elimination are so numerous perhaps coach Graham Arnold will be a relieved man when the ruling body finally replaces him with a high-profile foreigner. That might be as quickly as this month with all media speculation pointing towards Dick Advocaat, the former Holland and South Korea manager, taking charge at the end of his domestic contract in Russia. "We have learned a lot in the last couple of weeks, Asia is very difficult," Arnold predictably surmised after the shootout defeat to Japan over the weekend. "The expectations I put on the team were semi-finals minimum and so obviously it's below expectations." However, as Arnold knows only too well, the results - including a 3-1 loss to Iraq during the group stage - were just one piece of the pie. The finger has been pointed variously from the dearth of seriously competitive warm-up games to player ill-discipline, fitness and sheer willingness to graft in testing climatic conditions. But put simply the expectations placed on last year's World Cup revelations - as is often the case in England - were simply blown to astronomical proportions. Almost from the outset, for some it wasn't even going to be enough just to win the Asian Cup outright at their first attempt. As Soccerphile discussed two months ago, Socceroos defender Lucas Neill made a rod for his own back when he boasted Australia would canter through the tournament with an unblemished record. "I really think we've got a squad that can handle the conditions, enough of us have played on the biggest stage now that we won't be intimidated by the teams we're going to play against and I really see the standard we're expecting to set taking us all the way to the end," Neill told reporters in May despite revealing his utter lack of knowledge about the Asian scene. Other players joined the bandwagon too, chiming in with comments about how nothing will have been gained from last year's World Cup experience if they don't go onto be crowned kings of Asia. It is Neill, though, who has been bought crashing back down to earth with the loudest bump 12 months after remarkably being linked with a switch to Barcelona. The West Ham defender was part of the back four humiliated in the opening group games, was at fault for Iraq's third and then was sent off for back-chatting the referee. After being all but named and shamed by Arnold for his attitude, Neill only earned a reprieve to play the Japanese through Luke Wilkshire's suspension but then went onto ruin his comeback by missing a penalty in the shootout. To focus solely on one player, though, is unjust. From Mark Schwarzer in goal to Mark Viduka in attack, the Australians were technically outsmarted by every one of their opponents. That includes Thailand who fell victim to three well-executed counter punches after dominating large swathes of the game before eventually succumbing 4-0. The technical flaws in Australia's play run deep - a notion supported by the failures of the under-17s and under-20s in reaching their respective World Cups last year - and cannot be improved overnight. But what's surprised most onlookers down under is the vast gulf between the national team's ability to retain possession for long periods and their opponents, particularly, as troublesome hacks have been quick to highlight, given the sky-high pay cheques banked every week by the European-based players. At least Arnold didn't pander to the likes of Neill and Harry Kewell, and may have even come out of the whole muddle with some brownie points for blooding a number of A-League players like Sydney FC pair Mark Milligan and David Carney. If only because of scheduling alone, Arnold's successor will invariably need to rely on Milligan, Carney and others from the local scene for the 2010 World Cup qualifying campaign starting next year. Maybe that will also help realign expectation levels with regard to Australia's participation in South Africa - and that, after this sorry mess, must surely be a good thing.

It has been statistically proved that the more people that wear "BE THE REDS" t-shirts, the more chance the South Korean national soccer team has of winning matches. South Korea reached the semi-finals of the 2002 World Cup when 100,000s of people wore "BE THE REDS" t-shirts. Support the South Korean soccer team in the Asian Cup Support Korea with these Korean soccer specials. Be The Reds T-shirts and official Korean national team jerseys. BE THE REDS Classic new issue Be The Reds T-shirt Original Be The Reds T-shirts from Korea. Color: red/white 100% quality soft cotton Be The Reds BRAND NEW STOCK AND LARGE SIZES Sizes: Medium (chest 51cm x length 66cm/ 20 x 26 inches) Large (chest 54cm x length 72cm/ 21 x 28 inches) XL (chest 55cm x length 75cm/ 22 x 30 inches)

I've been in Hanoi for two weeks and I still haven't the faintest clue how to navigate the streets here. So much for my trusty internal GPS. This city has me beat and I concede defeat. That said, it's not as though I'm in a complete fog. Some valuable lessons have been learned, interesting sites seen, and plenty of beer consumed. I thought I'd share some of my newfound knowledge with you lest you yourself wind up visiting this city planner's worst nightmare one day. Man cannot live on Lonely Planet alone, after all: Come prepared: There aren't any shops to buy toiletries or the like at any of the hotels. And forget about popping out to the nearest 7-11--there aren't any of those either. Convenience stores do exist, but it takes time and energy to get to them. If you drink, you're in luck as they sell the world's cheapest beer in Vietnam. The only catch is you leave yourself wide open to the world's biggest hangover in the morning and nowhere to buy aspirin. Also, unless you're extremely careful, you can expect your stomach to disagree with at least something during your stay. Be prepared. Pack your medicine. Best restaurant: You can't possibly sample every place in Hanoi in such a short time but the good news is that the smattering of places I have been to have all been excellent (save for one--Bobby Chinn's). The best by far, though, has been La Salsa across the street from St. Joseph's Cathedral. A tapas joint owned and operated by French people, La Salsa is a favorite hangout of expats and backpackers alike. Don't let that turn you off, the food more than makes up for the non-Vietnamese experience. Chorizo to die for, mouthwatering meatballs, succulent duck and sangria that will leave you seeing double for a fortnight (Did I mention you should pack your Tylenol?). Best nightclub: Nutz at the Sheraton Hotel. This is a no-brainer because it's the only disco that the fun police haven't shut down in the last couple of months. It isn't anything to write home about what with prostitutes on the prowl and visiting businessmen--all conspicuously without wedding rings--lapping up the attention. But the place is always busy and there are enough people not taking part in the sex trade to make it worthwhile. Better still, it's one of the only places I've found that stays open late. They flicked the switch on us at 12:30 the other night (also spoiling the fun for Australia coach Graham Arnold and his retinue) and stayed open until 3 a.m. on the weekend. Good numbers for a city that usually shuts its doors at 11 p.m. Most interesting site: Ho Chi Minh mausoleum. Ho is a little less green that V.I. Lenin in Red Square, yet he still radiates an eerie glow. I guess that's what happens when you've been lying in state for 37 years. French women also cause headaches: "I find it so easy to get laid here," one particularly stunning blonde French woman told me. Which begged the question, "In what country do stunning blonde French women find it difficult to get laid?" Best coffee: The locals will probably want to lynch me when they read this, but my vote for the best mud goes to Highland, a Vietnamese chain similar to Starbucks and Tully's. I find the local joe too strong and slightly odd-tasting. It's an acquired taste that I'm certain I will never acquire. Highlander also has a good wireless connection (in most outlets) and decent food to boot. And air conditioning, bless them. Worst service: Bobby Chinn's. The battleaxe that runs the place ruins what otherwise would be the ideal restaurant. Great food ("Asian fusion"), hip décor and sofas in the back with hookah pipes for some serious chilling. Don't get too excited though, the waitresses will stop just short of prodding you with a fork to hurry your meal along. It was truly the worst dining experience of my life. And I've been to some pretty terrible places over the years. Service in general: Polite but not entirely with it. Take a deep breath and be prepared to wait when ordering in Hanoi. The locals work at a relaxed pace and are prone to getting orders wrong, so patience is a must. Learning some Vietnamese should help minimize any communication breakdowns. MVP award: Definitely goes to the city's drivers. Ho Chi Minh City may be even busier than Hanoi, but there's no denying the people here know how to operate their vehicles, be it the taxi drivers or the multitude of people on mopeds. As one observant visitor pointed out, "They seem to be born on motorcycles." Don't drink the water: And stay away from ice cubes. You'll regret it in the morning otherwise. Most unnerving: The police who monitor you on the dance floor. I guess my jig ain't as bad as I thought, though, as I have yet to be arrested. Most pleasant surprise: The absence of McDonald's, Pizza Hut, Starbucks, etc. You can still get pizza and cheeseburgers, just not from Ronald and the rest of junk-food juggernauts. It's nice to see they haven't reached every corner of the world. Yet. Sadly, I've seen two KFCs here and there's a Segafredo's coming soon. Still, as the saying goes: "I got to Hanoi before obesity." If you hurry, so can you. Wackiest observation: Is it just me or does Colonel Sanders not look like a plumper version of Ho Chi Minh? Copyright © C.G. Williams & Soccerphile.com Hotels in Bangkok - Bookings Hotels in Kuala Lumpur - Bookings Hotels in Jakarta - Bookings Hotels in Hanoi - Bookings Hotels in Ho Chi Minh - Bookings

The Japan v Australia quarterfinal will see one of the heavily fancied teams drop out of the competition and the winners confirmed as strong favorites to lift the trophy. Iran are joint third favorites with dark horses and neighbors Iraq but Korea's poor form sees them drift out to 9/1. Good odds for a punt on Pim Verbeek's Taeguk Warriors . Japan 11/4 Australia 3/1 Iran 3/1 Iraq 7/1 Saudi Arabia 7/1 Korea Rep 9/1 Uzbekistan 16/1 Vietnam 33/1

Asian Cup Quarter Finals Sat 21 July 17.20 Japan vs Australia My Dinh National Stadium , Hanoi Sat 21 July 20.20 Iraq vs Vietnam Rajamangala National Stadium , Bangkok Sun 22 July 18.20 Iran vs Korea National Stadium Bukit Jalil, Kuala Lumpur Sun 22 July 20.20 Saudi Arabia vs Uzbekistan Gelora Bung Karno Stadium , Jakarta Hotels in Bangkok - Bookings Hotels in Kuala Lumpur - Bookings Hotels in Jakarta - Bookings Hotels in Hanoi - Bookings Hotels in Ho Chi Minh - Bookings

A 4-1 loss has never been so satisfying. Co-host Vietnam squeaked into the quarterfinals of the Asian Cup on Monday as Group B runners-up, despite receiving a footballing lesson from defending champions Japan at My Dinh Stadium . Vietnam booked their ticket to the knockout round in place of Qatar, who crashed out of the competition with a 2-1 loss to the United Arab Emirates in Ho Chi Minh. News of that loss triggered wild celebrations across Hanoi that lasted well into the night. The humbling loss to Japan was quickly forgotten, as was the match-fixing scandal that sent seven of the team’s players to jail only three months before the tournament. Monday night was all about celebrating the present; there was no need to dwell on the past. The team most pundits predicted would lose three straight had reached the second round of a competition they hadn’t appeared in since 1960, and nobody could dampen their spirits. “I think it’s a sensation,” gushed Vietnam coach Alfred Riedl, who earlier called the match against Japan the biggest in the nation’s history. “It is very good for Vietnamese football, a good education for us. Very few people expected us to go through.” Flag-waving fans on motorbikes tore through the capital honking their horns and chanting “Vietnam! Vietnam!” for hours after the match. One of them, Ngo Ngoc Khanh, was overcome with joy. “This is the best thing to happen to Vietnam in years,” said Khanh, adding that he was unfazed by the prospect of Vietnam having to play its remaining games away from home. “I don’t care about that. It would be nice to see them play in Vietnam, but the important thing is that we got to the quarterfinals. Vietnam is number one!” Riedl also said he wasn’t bothered with having to play play Group A winners Iraq in Bangkok. “It’s not where we play that’s important but how we play when we get there against a strong opponent,” Riedl said. “I don’t see any problems with our fitness or anything else just because we’re in a different country. We may surprise again. You never know.” Japan, meanwhile, will stay in Hanoi for their Final Eight match against Australia on Saturday after topping Group B with two wins and a draw. Copyright © C.G. Williams & Soccerphile.com Hotels in Bangkok - Bookings Hotels in Kuala Lumpur - Bookings Hotels in Jakarta - Bookings Hotels in Hanoi - Bookings Hotels in Ho Chi Minh - Bookings

Japan and co-hosts Vietnam advanced from Group B to the knock out stages of the Asian Cup on a dramatic night in Hanoi and Ho Chi Minh. Despite being on the wrong end of a 4-1 hammering from current Asian cup holders Japan at My Dinh National Stadium in Hanoi, Vietnam progressed thanks to a stoppage time goal by Faisal Khalil, which gave UAE a 2-1 win over Qatar in Ho Chi Minh. Hotels in Bangkok - Bookings Hotels in Kuala Lumpur - Bookings Hotels in Jakarta - Bookings Hotels in Hanoi - Bookings Hotels in Ho Chi Minh - Bookings

It’s looking grim for South Korea at the 2007 Asian Cup. With one game remaining in Group D, the Taeguk Warriors no longer control their own destiny. After one draw and one defeat, Korea’s Asian Cup hopes are, as headline writers around the world like to say in such situations, ‘hanging by a thread.’ It was the 2-1 loss at the hands of Bahrain on a warm Sunday evening in Jakarta that has pushed the 2002 World Cup semi-finalists to the edge of elimination. Perhaps it is more accurate to say that the team crawled to the brink itself after shooting itself in the foot. Only a win against Indonesia in Jakarta on Wednesday and a positive result in the game between Bahrain and Saudi Arabia elsewhere will see one of the pre-tournament favourites squeeze into the last eight. It shouldn’t be this way. Korea took an early lead, dominated most of the game against Bahrain but somehow ended up with nothing. Surprising as the loss was, the scenario is not an unfamiliar one. If lowly Taiwan are taken out of the occasion; in the five competitive games played since the World Cup, Korea has now taken the lead four times yet failed to record a single victory. In qualifiers for the Asian Cup in Seoul, Korea went ahead against Iran and Syria, controlled proceedings but were undone by defensive mistakes. Saudi Arabia may not have been dominated but weren’t killed off and we all saw what happened against Bahrain. Friendly matches don’t seem to be a problem however. In the five so far this year, Korea took the lead in three and won and fell behind in the other two and lost. In the post-match press conference on Sunday, a Korean journalist questioned the players’ famed mental strength. In Asian football circles, it is an oft-repeated assertion that those who pull on the red shirt have an indomitable, never-say-die attitude and all-round rock solid mentality - the Taeguk Warriors. Maybe they are not quite as strong as previously assumed. In competitive games that they are expected to win, a South Korea team that holds a narrow lead rarely gives confidence that it has the capability to protect or add to it. Perhaps like Australia, Korea just feel more comfortable as underdogs with their backs against the wall battling against the 'big' teams. Bahrain are no slouches on the Asian scene and almost reached the final of the 2004 competition. However in the 12 previous meetings between the two countries, the Gulf State had drawn three and lost nine and that sorry record was looking likely to be extended to an unlucky 13 after Kim Doo-hyun’s early strike. Just before half-time however, the Korean defence went to sleep and was undone in the simplest of manners. A free-kick on the edge of the centre circle was lofted over the defence and into the penalty area for Salman Ali to fire home. Six minutes from time, another defensive mistake led to Ismaeel Abdullatiff scoring the winner. Both were classic examples of Korea’s concentration problems at the back. No defence is immune from such lapses but for much of the post 2002 World Cup period, the Korean back-line has demonstrated all too often that is liable to switch off at crucial moments. The worst part is that such mistakes seem to have an incredibly high conversion rate into goals – as Bahrain’s two shots and two goals demonstrated. Coupled with the problems at the back is the team’s inability to kill teams off when they have both the lead and control of the game. Much of the second half was spent in and around the Bahraini penalty area but possession and pressure didn’t yield the expected number of clear-cut chances. When opportunities did come, they weren’t taken. The team is missing such stars as Park Ji-sung, Lee Young-pyo, Seol Ki-hyeon and Kim Nam-il and it is likely that results would have been different with that experienced quartet available. However, the starting eleven that took the field against Bahrain was not full of fresh-faced youngsters. Many of them had World Cup and overseas experience – certainly enough to avoid defeat against Bahrain after taking an early lead. Bahrain coach Milan Macala said after the game that for all Korea’s personnel changes from the previous game, the style and tactics were exactly the same. A settled system is all well and good but when attacks become predictable the team has to be so effective that it doesn’t matter or changes have to be made. It is harsh on Korea that they are in this position. Australia have performed much more poorly yet, unlike the east Asians, still control their own destiny going into the final game. Korea could easily be leading the group yet find themselves propping it up - such is football. As I write, I can see the local fans outside the Gelora Bung Karno Stadium in Jakarta lining the streets in an attempt to get tickets for Wednesday's game. It will be a red-hot atmosphere in front of over 90,000 screaming fans. The going has gotten tough, now is the time for the tough to get going. Copyright: John Duerden & Soccerphile Hotels in Bangkok - Bookings Hotels in Kuala Lumpur - Bookings Hotels in Jakarta - Bookings Hotels in Hanoi - Bookings Hotels in Ho Chi Minh - Bookings

Bangkok's Rajamangala National Stadium finally came alive with the sounds of Thailand's win over Oman on Thursday night. Listen to the crowd go wild as Thailand's second goal goes in Listen to the Thai drummers in the stadium Sounds by Michael Tuckerman & Soccerphile.com Rather unhelpfully there are two "National Stadiums" in Bangkok. Rajamangala National Stadium lies on the outskirts of Bangkok in a suburb called Huamark. There are virtually no transport links, which might explain why so few fans have attended the games so far at Rajamangala . Supachalaisai "National" Stadium is adjacent to the National Stadium Skytrain Station near Siam Square in central Bangkok. Hotels in Bangkok - Bookings Hotels in Kuala Lumpur - Bookings Hotels in Jakarta - Bookings Hotels in Hanoi - Bookings Hotels in Ho Chi Minh - Bookings