soccer.joel Posted November 5, 2014 Author Share Posted November 5, 2014 Asian Cup 2023 Group Stage Vs. South Korea We went for a 4-2-3-1. I decided to rest our key no. 10's. It was an even game. Neither side created too much. The difference came when we gave away a sloppy foul on halfway. It was taken quickly, Korea's attacking midfielder cleverly pushed to try and overload our centre backs, but instead of the defence shifting left, our left back came inside allowing Korea's right winger free on the right to receive a switch and finish home. It is these decisive moments that make games and I was disappointed that we had a lack of communication. Vs. North Korea Against the other Korea we changed our formation allowing us to have greater support going forward and providing us with defensive overloads at the back. We were utterly comprehensive. We defended solidly, preventing the North Koreans from having a sniff, while we were wasteful we got 3 which was a solid result. One I was pleased with. Vs. Tajikstan Our final game and we are not yet through, I played a strong squad with an unchanged system. It was a worrying start when after 16 minutes Roy Edwards was dismissed after 2 silly tackles. It made no difference and we produced an excellent performance of clinical finishing and clever attacking. Despite our excellent attacking in the last 2 games we went through 2nd in the group, we face China in the next round as we seek our first Asian crown Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
soccer.joel Posted November 5, 2014 Author Share Posted November 5, 2014 Asian Cup 2023 Knockout Stages Quarter Finals - Vs. China China's use of a lone striker and wingers saw us return to 4 at the back. We had a bad start, a corner saw them lead after just 13 minutes. We did not take long to reply with some clever build up play. We fell behind again though from a set piece, a short free kick was followed by a Matt Ryan howler which saw the Chinese score again. I demanded more at half time and that is what I got, Vieira provided some excellent attacking and had a big part in the equaliser, before bagging the winner to send us to the semi final. Some interesting results in the other games. Kuwait upset the hosts and South Korea kept up their excellent defensive record Semi Final - vs. Kuwait Terrible news, Matt Ryan is out injured, meaning once capped 21 year old Kamil Wolski has to step in for the biggest game in his career. We returned to 3 at the back despite their 4-2-3-1. In the 7th minute we were punished for average defending a ball was played through the middle of our defence who were 2 slow off the mark, Wolski perhaps should have saved the shot but we were 1-0 nonetheless. Early in the 2nd half we got one of our own, some excellent play from Cartesan set up his strike partner Mavromatis. We kept attacking and creating chances but couldn't find the goal that would send us to the final, so it went to extra time. We fell behind again from a free kick which Wolski probably should have saved but I am not going to criticize the kid much more. With 5 to go we go a dramatic equaliser, Chillico headed home from a corner. The penalty shoot out was dramatic but Wolski turned hero to save the final penalty 2 late goals saw Qatar stun South Korea. So we play them in the final Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
Deisler26 Posted November 5, 2014 Share Posted November 5, 2014 This was a really great read! Look forward to you finally getting your hands on some international silverware! Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
soccer.joel Posted November 5, 2014 Author Share Posted November 5, 2014 Asian Cup 2023 3rd Place Play-off South Korea got their 5th clean sheet to get a bronze Asian Cup 2023 Final Vs. Qatar I was desperate to win and avoid the specialist in failure tag that would come from choking in my 3rd consecutive Asian Cup Final. I went back to the 4-2-3-1 as ditching my spare man philosophy almost cost me a space in the final The final was a masterclass, we played some excellent football and won 4-0. [video=youtube_share;Ck2LAvINOvE]http://youtu.be/Ck2LAvINOvE This means that finally I've done it! Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
Deisler26 Posted November 5, 2014 Share Posted November 5, 2014 Hooray!!! Well done!! Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
soccer.joel Posted November 5, 2014 Author Share Posted November 5, 2014 Asian Cup 2023 Awards Most Valuable Player: Mohcine Vieira (Australia) Top Goalscorer: Wang Xiang (China) - 5 goals 2nd: Rahim Jafari (Iran) - 5 goals 3rd: Ettore Cartesan (Australia) - 4 goals Goal of the tournament: Aziz (Kuwait) All-Star XI Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
soccer.joel Posted November 5, 2014 Author Share Posted November 5, 2014 Hooray!!! Well done!! Thanks mate Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
soccer.joel Posted November 5, 2014 Author Share Posted November 5, 2014 2023 to 2025 After the Asian Cup we moved up to 28th in the world but now I will review the times without a major tournament from the end of the Asian Cup to the Confederations Cup. This encompasses a World Cup qualifying campaign, as well as an East Asian Cup, AFF Championship and a lot of friendlies. 2023 Friendlies Post Asian Cup we faced some excellent sides and held our own. We got a draw with France the World no. 2 which was a boost to our confidence. 2023 World Cup Qualifiers The remainder of the year was spent playing World Cup qualifiers as well as a friendly against Croatia. It was a solid start to the qualifying campaign despite the disappointing loss to Uzbekistan 2024 Vieira was named the Asian player of the Year for the 2nd year in a row. Cartesan was judged as the best young player for 2023. We had a vital change of staff once I quit at Milan with long term club assistant becoming my international assistant. We completed the first round of qualifying with an excellent win to top the group. Our next run of games was disappointing, we had a terrible start to the World Cup final qualifying round. In July our focus changed to the East Asian Cup where I made it 4 out of 4. We lost a couple more friendlies but managed to win our next 2 World Cup qualifiers. After a blemish last time we fell short in the final of the AFF Championship. Indonesia got it over us again 2025 Vieira was awarded Asia's best player again for 2024. We finished the World Cup Qualifiers in form to qualify for our 6th consecutive World Cup It should have been more comprehensive as we only avoided the play-off on goal difference I'd like to highlight this game in March, we obliterated the reigning world champions to show the world what we can do!! Daniel De Silva our no.10 managed to magnificently break this record Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
soccer.joel Posted November 16, 2014 Author Share Posted November 16, 2014 2025 Confederations Cup I now have a tournament which acts as a warm-up for the World Cup finals. We are drawn in a group with Mexico, Croatia and Colombia as champions of their respective continents with the exception of Colombia. I picked a squad as close as I could to what I think I will take next year but besides Chillico I am unsure about who to take in defence, which is a long-term area of weakness. Vs. Mexico With a very much experimentary defence. We went for a 4-2-3-1 after the excellent Argentina performance with a similar system earlier in the year. It was a nightmare start but we recovered and played quite well against a very good side. Our poor defending saw a change to 3 at the back in the 2nd half after we were 2-1 down. We fell behind before equalising a total of 3 times and it was enough in the end. Vs. Croatia I returned to a system I feel more comfortable defending with This game we dominated but found ourselves behind to a set piece goal. We found the equaliser but couldn't find the winner. Vs. Colombia We went back to 4 at the back to provide us more cover to deep runs. A win would send us through Another good performance but we fell behind early from a set piece. We equalised this game but in the 2nd half were exposed first from open play then from a set piece. So we played well but due to poor defending we conceded far too many and fell behind too much. We didn't lead at all and it cost us. More experimentation at the back and adjustment to tactics may be required for a successful World Cup. Group Tables Knockout Stages The US had a lucky edge on home soil to knock off some very good sides on penalties to win the tournament. Mexico beat Colombia for 3rd place for the record, Awards Best Player - Ezequiel Napolitano (Argentina) Top Goalscorer - Sergio Avila (Argentina) Best Goalkeeper - Fausto Barrientos (Argentina) Fair Play Award - Mexico Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
soccer.joel Posted November 16, 2014 Author Share Posted November 16, 2014 Next weekend I promise the World Cup will come if anyone still wants to read Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
Adelaidean Posted November 16, 2014 Share Posted November 16, 2014 Still enjoying it and looking forward to it . Unlucky in the Confeds but hopefully your experimentation pays off ! Also the screenshot for the Mexico match result seems to be missing. Do you plan on continuing the save after the 2026 WC? Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
soccer.joel Posted November 17, 2014 Author Share Posted November 17, 2014 Still enjoying it and looking forward to it . Unlucky in the Confeds but hopefully your experimentation pays off ! Also the screenshot for the Mexico match result seems to be missing.Do you plan on continuing the save after the 2026 WC? Thanks. I updated the Mexico screenshot. I won't play much further than what I have done in game so far but all will be revealed in the next week or so Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
Deisler26 Posted November 17, 2014 Share Posted November 17, 2014 Gutted for you dude Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
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