Yuki Nagasato coolly lifts the ball over New Zealand goalie Jenny Bindon after her ill advised charge strands her out of position. Six minutes later a perfectly weighted cross by Ria Percival finds Amber Hearn in the correct spot and the in form striker heads home for the perfect finish. Shades of Shane Smeltz's heroics against Italy in the men's World Cup?

There could have been 100 goals in the 2011 Asian Cup tournament, if North Korea and the United Arab Emirates had been a bit less shi...ocking. And as there were nearly three goals-per-game and the best and most entertaining team won, this tournament can be filed in the success column – whatever Alex Ferguson may think of "this Asia Cup thing.

2,022. That was the attendance figure announced when Japan faced off against Saudi Arabia at Al-Rayyan stadium, and the symbolism drew a smattering of applause from the 800 or so fans actually in attendance.
Evidently the Asian Cup is not a widespread crowd-puller. With most Saudi fans on the first bus back to Jeddah as soon as the whistle blew on their second group-stage defeat, it's clear most of the Saudi players wished they'd taken the same route.

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 [.

An Italian walks into a bar in Tokyo and asks for a local brew, but not wishing to disappoint, the barman discreetly pours the visitor a Peroni instead.

It's a plausible scenario in a country like Japan, where citizens are eager to please and equally desperate to avoid criticism.

Perhaps that's why the Japanese press were quick to turn a blind eye to another poor performance from the Samurai Blue at the Asian Cup in Qatar, as Alberto Zaccheroni's men laboured to a 2-1 win over a spirited but technically inferior Syria.

We asked four Soccerphile writers for their picks for the 2011 Asian Cup, which kicks off today.
First Seoul-based K-League cognoscente John Duerden: It's an open competition but I have a feeling for Saudi Arabia.
This is a team that could either do terribly or go all the way.