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Great we got to a final with a strong performance over Uzbekistan and a strong but ultimately losing performance in the Asian Cup Final.

No-one more delighted to see the team playing some decent fast forward focused football and let's face it we should have won the final. Will we ever get a better chance?

Lucy, Paddy,and Nick are on the pitch and examine our narrow loss in the final of the Asian Cup and of course all the A-League news.

We are not in mourning at the Nearpost - Oh No! Lots of positives for Australian football in this Asian Cup campaign. But did Carney have to leave that Blue Samuria player alone in front of goal in the last gasp of exetra time?

DOHA, Qatar — Billed as a dress rehearsal for the World Cup, the 2011 Asian Cup was nothing of the sort. Qatar's win in the December vote for the 2022 World Cup hosting rights led to a storm of criticism, and put the spotlight on the Asian Cup like never before. The Gulf nation looked [...]

DOHA, Qatar— Jubilant three-time champions Japan reached the Asian Cup final after defeating arch-rivals South Korea 3-0 in a nail-biting penalty shootout on Tuesday. Centre-back Yasuyuki Konno netted the decisive penalty, steering the ball into the right-hand side of the goal, after Koo Ja-Cheol, Lee Yong-Rae and Hong Jeong-Ho had all failed from 12 yards [.

Two young Aussies knocked on my door at 3.20am this morning. Two young footballers without Fox.

And myself and their Dad cheered long and loud when Harry Kewell scored after five minutes.

It was tense as the Uzbeks had 70% of possession but the space in attack for Australia was surprising but for this supporter who's seen Bahrain, Iraq, Korea and of course Germany and others limit our opportunities over the last six months.

Tonight's the night. Asian Cup Semi and the Uzbek manager reckons we're not as good as we used to be!

We know that but the guys who have come through in this tournament with a future in the Green and Gold at some level include:

Matt McKay
Mile Jedinak
Neil Kilkenny
Sasa Ognenovski

So we've found four players, we may find more, not World beaters but competent with others around them to get us to a World Cup - we need to be top four in Asia - this we are, but with Harry and Timmy getting older and many many games going our way when they could easily of gone the other.

DOHA, Qatar – Socceroo striker Tim Cahill is racing the clock to be fit for Australia's Asian Cup semi-final against Uzbekistan next Tuesday. Asked yesterday if he would play, Cahill said only: "I hope so." Cahill was touch and go for the Iraq match, after badly bruising a thigh against Bahrain. He managed to play [.

DOHA, Qatar — Three-time champions Japan have long expected to face South Korea at the Asian Cup and are ready for a tough semi-final with their old cross-strait rivals. South Korea edged Iran 1-0 on Saturday with a 105th-minute winner from substitute Yoon Bit-Garam to book a last-four clash with the Blue Samurai, who struggled [.

DOHA, Qatar  — Substitute midfielder Yoon Bit-garam drilled a left-foot shot from the edge of the penalty box in extra time Saturday to send South Korea into the semifinals of the Asian Cup with a 1-0 victory over perennial rival Iran. Yoon found the into the lower right corner of the net during injury time [.

DOHA, Qatar Socceroos midfielder Jason Culina will miss the rest of Australia's Asian Cup campaign because of a serious knee injury that has forced him home early from Qatar. A shattered Culina was released from Socceroos camp just hours before Australia's 1-0 quarter-final win over Iraq at Al-Sadd Stadium.

Adelaide thumped the Fury 8-1 with some fantastic goals. Watch them, they were beautiful with a forward four to die for, and then Matthew Leckie steps on to the field.

Brisbane won't have the finals all their own way.

With the Melbourne Derby followed by the biggest game in Australia football for some years, World Cup a side.

DOHA, Qatar — Uzbekistan wrote a new chapter in their footballing history on Friday by making the Asian Cup semi-finals for the first time with a tense 2-1 win against Jordan. Both teams were gunning for a maiden last-four berth at the continent's premier football tournament and a brace from Ulugbek Bakaev earned his team [.

DOHA, Qatar — Dominant three-time champions Iran cruised past the United Arab Emirates 3-0 at the Asian Cup Wednesday to finish the group stage as the only side with a 100 percent record. Striker Arash Afshin opened the scoring in the 70th minute only to be sent off for a fierce challenge on UAE goalkeeper [.

DOHA, Qatar — Reigning champions Iraq set up a quarter-final clash with Australia after beating North Korea 1-0 Wednesday, condemning the Koreans to an early exit having failed to score in the tournament. The 2007 champions finished second in Group D behind Iran, but will be underdogs against an Australian team out for revenge after [.

Australia beat Bahrain 1-0 thanks to a Mile Jedinak strike but the real concern is the wounded soldiers, some limping, some suspended, some just ageing.

Did anyone really think Harry Kewell could play six games straight?

Well he's up to three, but he's showing signs of slowing. Meanwhile Brett Emerton pulled his Croatia 2006 World Cup trick, getting booked for nothing on the eve of our most important game in a while - watch Iraq or Iran just like Italy pour down the Aussie left next game.

DOHA, Qatar Ji Dong-won grabbed a brace as South Korea outclassed India at a wet Al Gharafa Stadium to set up a mouth-watering Asian Cup quarter-final against Iran. Koo Ja-cheol and substitute Son Heung-min also found the back of the net for South Korea, but Cho Kwang-rae's men will be left kicking themselves after [.

DOHA, Qatar Mile Jedinak's first-half goal against Bahrain at Al Sadd Stadium was enough to send Australia through to the quarter-finals of the Asian Cup. The Genclerbirligi midfielder scored his second goal in as many games to ensure the Socceroos finish top of Group C and go through to the last eight unbeaten following [.

DOHA, Qatar — Saudi Arabia fired its second coach this month after closing out a disappointing Asian Cup campaign with a 5-0 loss to Japan. The Saudi Press Agency says Nassir al-Johar was fired and would be replaced by a "high profile" international coach. Al-Johar, who was brought in for his fifth stint with the [.

DOHA, Qatar Jordan came back from a goal down to beat Syria 2-1 Monday to qualify for the Asian Cup quarterfinals and deny Syria its first trip to the knockout stage. Striker Odai al-Saify scored the winning goal in the 59th minute, slipping past Syria defender Ali Dyab and chipping the ball over the [.

DOHA, Qatar — Shinji Okazaki scored a hat trick and Ryoichi Maeda struck twice to give Japan a 5-0 victory over Saudi Arabia on Monday and a place in the quarterfinals of the Asian Cup. Japan will play host Qatar on Friday after completely dominating its last Group B match. "We improved with every game [.

DOHA, Qatar — Uzbekistan reached the Asian Cup quarter-finals after drawing 2-2 with China in a topsy-turvy and fiercely contested final Group A game at the Al Gharafa Stadium here on Sunday. Having fallen behind early on, Uzbekistan equalised and then went ahead early in the second period through a fine long-distance effort from one-time [.

DOHA, Qatar — Qatar stormed into the Asian Cup quarter-finals for only the second time in their history on Sunday with a commanding 3-0 victory over Gulf champions Kuwait, who were eliminated from the tournament. They went through after Uzbekistan drew 2-2 with China to top Group A, allowing Qatar to finish second and make [.

RIYADH, Saudi Arabia — The king of Saudi Arabia has fired the country's football federation president following the national team's disappointing performance at the Asian Cup. A statement from King Abdullah's office on Saturday says Sultan bin Fahd bin Abdul-Aziz has been removed from his post and replaced by Prince Nawaf bin Faisal bin Fahd [.

DOHA, Qatar — Reigning champions Iraq stunned the United Arab Emirates 1-0 on Saturday at the Asian Cup with an injury-time own-goal to put the holders in a strong position to make the knockout rounds. Three-times champions Iran became the first team at the championships to qualify for the quarter-finals after they defeated World Cup [.

DOHA, Qatar — Three-time champions Iran swept aside North Korea 1-0 at the Asian Cup Saturday to become the first team to qualify for the quarter-finals in their bid to end a 35-year title drought. Karim Ansari Fard struck the winner in the 62nd minute as Team Melli fought hard to crack a tight North [.

DOHA, Qatar — Australia and South Korea shared the spoils 1-1 in the battle of the big guns at the Asian Cup on Friday as both sides inched closer to the quarter-finals. The two Asian heavyweights are both seen as potential champions but neither could find the winner at the three-quarters full Al-Gharafa Stadium.

DOHA, Qatar — Bahrain's Ismaeel Abdulatif scored a remarkable four goals as his side thrashed India 5-2 here on Friday to stay in contention for an Asian Cup last-eight berth and consign the Indians to elimination. The 24-year-old forward scored three times in just 19 minutes in a devastating first-half spell, after Faouzi Aaish's penalty [.

Australia drew 1-1 with Korea in it's crucial Asian Cup Qualifier last night.

A strong performance from the Australia team, particularly at times in the final third showed enough to suggest that the triumverate of Harry Kewell, Tim Cahill and the mobile Brett Holman could see them yet into the final.

DOHA, Qatar — Ten-man Japan struggled past Syria 2-1 in a high-octane and controversial Asian Cup group match Thursday to keep alive their hopes of reaching the knockout rounds. Captain Makoto Hasebe opened the scoring for the three-time champions in the 35th minute but Syria pulled one back from a penalty controversially awarded against goalkeeper [.

DOHA, Qatar — Jordan dumped three-times champions Saudi Arabia out of the Asian Cup on Thursday with a 1-0 victory courtesy of a goalkeeping howler by Waleed Abdullah. It has been a traumatic few days for Saudi Arabia, whose quest for a first Asian Cup since 1996 got off to a disastrous start when they [.

DOHA, Qatar — Yusef Ahmed fired a brace to help restore Qatar's pride and their hopes of reaching the Asian Cup knockout rounds in an entertaining 2-0 victory over China on Wednesday. It was a badly needed morale boost for the host nation after their opening defeat to Uzbekistan and leaves Group A finely poised [.

DOHA, Qatar— A thunderbolt from captain Server Djeparov gave Uzbekistan a 2-1 win over Kuwait that took them to the brink of the Asian Cup last eight here on Wednesday and left Kuwait on the verge of elimination. Djeparov cracked home a first-time shot from 20 yards in the 65th minute to continue Uzbekistan's 100 [.

DOHA, Qatar — North Korea was forced to dig deep to salvage a point against a rampant United Arab Emirates as they opened their Asian Cup campaign in less than convincing fashion Tuesday. The Koreans, who made the World Cup in South Africa but lost all three games, withstood a barrage of UAE pressure throughout [.

Socceroo David Carney said: "I just got dragged into thinking it was going Nearpost.

"If I didn't go near post he probably would've went there because there was so much room. It was one of those decisions you had to make."

"I listen to the Nearpost poddie every week and Holger reminds of the tagline each game.

Harry did it in the last minute but for most of us followers of Aussie football it was Matt McKay the Aussie who roared.

Inspirational.

Technically adept, swift of foot and can he run. In the modern game you need a motor, in the international game you need an exceptional motor, especially in midfield.

Aussie football is dead, long live Aussie football.

Australia produced a performance at the Asia Cup, good enough, just to sneak into the Asia Cup Semi Finals for the first time.

Sure it was close but Matt McKay, Sas Ognenovski, David Carney, Mile Jedinak and Nathan Burns were a few of the A-League made players who are not comfortable in the Green and Gold.

Thanks to Johnroar for the link! http://radiotime.com/station/s_113003/TBS_eFM_1013.aspx

Talking football to our Korean friends ahead of the clash tonight.

Go Australia!

Thoughts pre-game:

Could Harry Kewell, Tim Cahill and Brett Holman be the key to victory?

Really looking forward to this mouth-watering clash as are the Koreans if you go by the numbers of Koreans posting on Aussie blogs!

Young fast and mobile with players, that's Korea, playing in big leagues in Europe against an Aussie team ageing and in decline.

Korea thumped Australia 3-1 earlier this year in Seoul and it could be a similar night tomorrow.

Lucas Neill, Brett Emerton, Harry Kewell, Tim Cahill, Jason Culina, Mark Schwarzer will not be in Brazil.

One or maybe two might - if Australia get there.

So this is really the last hurrah for these guys, as a team.

Let's hope they can build on the India game. They certainly look more prepared than the previous Asia Cup in Thailand.

Union

With the Jorge Perlaza move to the Union rumors seemingly to foundering over an apparent contract dispute that may or may not be resolved, a report this morning from Nuevo Estadio says that Perlaza is waiting for a work permit to play in MLS "for a handsome figure." (You can read a crappy translation here.