2011 AFC Asian Cup Final

2011 AFC Asian Cup Final
Event 2011 AFC Asian Cup
Date 29 January 2011
Venue Khalifa International Stadium, Doha
Man of the Match Eiji Kawashima (Japan)
Referee Ravshan Irmatov (Uzbekistan)
Attendance 37,174
Weather Clear
19.0 °C (66.2 °F)
78% humidity[1]

The 2011 AFC Asian Cup Final was a football match that took place on 29 January 2011 at the Khalifa International Stadium in Doha, Qatar, to determine the winner of the 2011 AFC Asian Cup. The match was won by Japan, defeating Australia 1–0 after extra time through a goal scored by Tadanari Lee.[2] Japan thus qualified for the 2013 FIFA Confederations Cup as the representative from AFC.[3][4]

The tournament's closing ceremony was held immediately before kickoff. 37,174 people attended the match, although several thousand supporters with tickets were prohibited from entering the stadium after entry was closed 30 minutes before the match commenced.[5][6][7]

A television viewing audience of 484 million in 80 countries across the Asia-Pacific region, Europe, North America and North Africa witnessed Japan defeat Australia 1–0 in the final.[8]

Background

The final was played between Japan and Australia. Japan, coached by Italian Alberto Zaccheroni, qualified for the final after defeating tournament host Qatar in the quarter-final and South Korea after a penalty shoot-out in the semi-final.[9] Australia, also led by a foreign coach (German Holger Osieck), opened the tournament with a 4–0 win over India on their way to winning their group, before defeating Iraq in the quarter-final, and thrashing Uzbekistan 6–0 in the semi-final.[10] For Australia, victory would bring its first ever title in an Asian tournament, having won three Oceania titles.[11] The match marked a record for Australia's goalkeeper Mark Schwarzer, becoming the country's most capped player with his 88th appearance.[12] Shinji Kagawa missed the match due to injury.

Route to the final

Australia Round Japan
Opponent Result Group stage Opponent Result
 India 4–0 Match 1  Jordan 1–1
 South Korea 1–1 Match 2  Syria 2–1
 Bahrain 1–0 Match 3  Saudi Arabia 5–0
Team Pld W D L GF GA GD Pts
 Australia 321061+57
 South Korea 321073+47
 Bahrain 310265+13
 India 3003313−100
 Final standing
Team Pld W D L GF GA GD Pts
 Japan 321082+67
 Jordan 321042+27
 Syria 310245−13
 Saudi Arabia 300318−70
Opponent Result Knockout stage Opponent Result
 Iraq 1–0 (a.e.t.) Quarterfinals  Qatar 3–2
 Uzbekistan 6–0 Semifinals  South Korea 2–2 (a.e.t.) (3–0 pen.)

Match details

Australia dominated the first half of the match, and had chances to score through their forwards Tim Cahill and Harry Kewell. Japan had a scare shortly after half-time when a cross from Luke Wilkshire was misjudged by Japan's goalkeeper Eiji Kawashima and hit the crossbar, only for Cahill's shot to be cleared off the goal-line. Japan, however, had chances on the counter-attack including a wasted opportunity for Shinji Okazaki halfway through the second half, missing a header on goal while he was unmarked. The deadlock remained unbroken until the 20th minute of extra time, when Japan substitute Tadanari Lee scored off a cross from Yuto Nagatomo. Japan held its lead until the end of extra time to win the final.[13]

After the match, Keisuke Honda was named the "most valuable player" of the tournament.[12] Both managers praised their players after the match; Osieck expressed disappointment that Australia could not convert numerous opportunities to score, while Zaccheroni called Japan's win a "great victory" and hailed Lee's impact as a substitute.[14]

29 January 2011
18:00 UTC+3
Australia  0 – 1 (a.e.t.)  Japan
Report  109' Tadanari Lee
Australia
Japan
GK 1 Mark Schwarzer
RB 8 Luke Wilkshire
CB 2 Lucas Neill (c)
CB 6 Saša Ognenovski
LB 3 David Carney
RM 14 Brett Holman  39'  65'
CM 15 Mile Jedinak
CM 16 Carl Valeri  16'
LM 17 Matt McKay  112'
SS 10 Harry Kewell  103'
CF 4 Tim Cahill  109'
Substitutions:
GK 12 Nathan Coe
GK 18 Brad Jones
MF 7 Brett Emerton  65'
FW 9 Scott McDonald
FW 11 Nathan Burns
DF 13 Jade North
MF 19 Tommy Oar
DF 20 Matthew Spiranovic
DF 21 Jon McKain
MF 22 Neil Kilkenny  109'
FW 23 Robbie Kruse  103'
Manager:
Germany Holger Osieck
Mark Schwarzer Saša Ognenovski David Carney Luke Wilkshire Lucas Neill Mile Jedinak Carl Valeri Brett Holman Matt McKay Harry Kewell Tim Cahill Jungo Fujimoto Ryoichi Maeda Keisuke Honda Shinji Okazaki Makoto Hasebe Yasuhito Endō Yuto Nagatomo Atsuto Uchida Yasuyuki Konno Maya Yoshida Eiji KawashimaAUS-JPN 2011-01-29.svg
About this image
GK 1 Eiji Kawashima
RB 6 Atsuto Uchida  120'
CB 22 Maya Yoshida
CB 4 Yasuyuki Konno
LB 5 Yuto Nagatomo
CM 7 Yasuhito Endō
CM 17 Makoto Hasebe (c)
AM 18 Keisuke Honda
RW 9 Shinji Okazaki
LW 14 Jungo Fujimoto  56'
CF 11 Ryoichi Maeda  98'
Substitutions:
GK 21 Shusaku Nishikawa
GK 23 Shuichi Gonda
DF 2 Masahiko Inoha  120'
DF 3 Daiki Iwamasa  56'
DF 12 Ryota Moriwaki
MF 13 Hajime Hosogai
MF 15 Takuya Honda
MF 16 Yosuke Kashiwagi
DF 20 Mitsuru Nagata
FW 19 Tadanari Lee  98'
Manager:
Italy Alberto Zaccheroni

Man of the Match:
Eiji Kawashima (Japan)

Assistant referees:
Abdukhamidullo Rasulov (Uzbekistan)
Rafael Ilyasov (Uzbekistan)
Fourth official:
Subkhiddin Mohd Salleh (Malaysia)

References

Wikimedia Commons has media related to AFC Asian Cup.
  1. ↑ "Weather History for Doha, Qatar". Wunderground. Retrieved 31 January 2015.
  2. ↑ "Australia 0 - 1 Japan". ESPN Soccernet. 2011-01-29. Retrieved 2011-02-02.
  3. ↑ "Australia 0-1 Japan (AET)". goal.com. 2011-01-29. Retrieved 2011-02-02.
  4. ↑ "Australia 0-1 Japan (AET". Daily Telegraph. 2011-01-29. Retrieved 2011-02-02.
  5. ↑ Casey, Michael (29 January 2011). "Thousands of ticket-holders miss out on Asian Cup final after gates are closed before kickoff". The Canadian Press. Retrieved 29 January 2011.
  6. ↑ "Japan wins Asian Cup with 1-0 over Australia". Associated Press. 29 January 2011. Retrieved 29 January 2011.
  7. ↑ "Asian Cup blames royals' attendance". ESPN. 29 January 2011. Retrieved 30 January 2011.
  8. ↑ "Asian Cup final 'rematch' kick-off time set". Asian Football Confederation. 23 April 2012. Retrieved 5 May 2012.
  9. ↑ Paraskevas, Chris. "Asian Cup 2011: Japan's Path To The Final". goal.com. Retrieved 29 January 2011.
  10. ↑ Paraskevas, Chris (29 January 2011). "Asian Cup 2011: Australia's Path To The Final". goal.com. Retrieved 29 January 2011.
  11. ↑ O'Brien, Bren (28 January 2011). "Preview: Socceroos v Japan". Sportal. Retrieved 29 January 2011.
  12. ↑ 12.0 12.1 "Asian Cup dream ends in heartbreak". ABC News (Australian Broadcasting Corporation). 30 January 2011. Retrieved 29 January 2011.
  13. ↑ Lynch, Michael (30 January 2011). "Socceroos suffer extra-time heartbreak". Sydney Morning Herald. Retrieved 29 January 2011.
  14. ↑ "Heartbroken Socceroos 'proud, disappointed'". ABC News. 29 January 2011. Archived from the original on 14 February 2011. Retrieved 29 January 2011.

External links