Sunday, June 8, 2008
The Associated Press
KUWAIT CITY: Ahmed Ajab al-Azemi scored a hat trick to lead Kuwait to a 4-2 win over Syria 4-2 in the first round of World Cup qualifiers.
The win kept Kuwait's hopes alive of advancing to the second qualifying round, although it remains at the bottom of Group 5 with four points. Iran heads the group with six points, followed by Syria and the United Arab Emirates who both have five.
Al-Azemi gave his team the lead with a header in the first minute, before Syria's Firas al-Khatib equalized with a free kick in the ninth.
Al-Azemi put Kuwait back ahead with another header in the 19th, but Al-Khatib equalized again in first-half injury time. Walid Ali wade it 3-2 for Kuwait in the 57th, with a shot that was deflected off Syria's Anas Alkhoja into the net, and al-Azemi added his third in the 62nd to seal the win in a match played late at night to avoid the high temperatures in this small desert state in the Gulf.
Kuwait sacked Croatian coach Radion Gacanin this week because of the poor results in previous qualifiers. He was replaced by Mohammed Ibrahim, a former player on the national team.
English
فارسی
June 8th, 2008 at 4:12 pm
Guys, this is almost unbelievable! It is the best result we could have hoped for! After four rounds we are at the top! In one round everything changed and turned inside out!
Now if we defeat Syria in Damascus, we are through.
Group 5
Team|MP|W | D | L |GF|GA|Pts
Iran | 4 | 1 | 3 | 0 | 3 | 2 | 6
UAE | 4 | 1 | 2 | 1 | 3 | 2 | 5
Syr | 4 | 1 | 2 | 1 | 4 | 5 | 5
Kuw | 4 | 1 | 1 | 2 | 6 | 7 | 4
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June 8th, 2008 at 4:41 pm
Japan and Australia, here we come!!!!
Isn’t intersting that Iraq also beat Australia, Oman Tied with Japan, and Thailand tied with Bahrain. Maybe, we have a chance in next round too after all!!!
June 8th, 2008 at 8:34 pm
What can I tell you kia jAn? This was the least expected result for even the more optimistic fans.
Now the boys have to show what they are all about, and Daei needs to show that he has guts. If he come in with a defensive arrangment, then we’ll know he’s got the jitters.
June 9th, 2008 at 2:25 pm
Afshin, I agree. Frankly, with only one point lead over Syria and UAE, a defensive tactic is likely to result in two draws and two points from the remaining games at best and that would not necessarily be enough for our team to qualify for the next round as one of the top two team. As we saw during the UAE game, as soon as the opponent feels the sting is out of our attacking side, they will become bolder and increase the pressure on our defense. To be honest, we did not concede a goal in the last match partly due to the fact UAE did not have a good finisher. We may not want to test our defense too far at this crucial stage. Since luck has been our side, when the other group leader Syria was crushed by Kuwait, let’s take advantage and make sure we will end as the top team in the group which would likely mean easier opponents in the next round. Hope Daei is smart enough to go with the best tactics. I recall a quote by Mario Zagalo, the former Brazilian coach who stated, the best defense in football is to keep attacking and keep the opponent busy with defense, even if you are one, two, or three gosas ahead.