Midfielders are the most influential players in the middle of the park. Without their proper action, the attackers and defenders will find it hard to cope up against the opponents. Hence, the midfielders are the guitarist in the music band. Without them, there would be no music. There are several experienced players, and there are tons of youngsters who are standing in the line to make a name for themselves in this competition....
In case you didn’t know… India’s meteoric rise on the FIFA Rankings saw them go up to 129, making them the seventh-seeded team in the AFC Cup Draw behind Jordan, Oman, Philipines, Bahrain, Kyrgyz Republic and DPR Korea. Twenty-four teams were put into four pots, of which there are six groups of four teams each chosen. The top two from each group qualify for the AFC 2019 Asian Cup. The heart of the matter It is quite simple from here, do better than the teams from Pot 3 and Pot 4, ie, Myanmar (159) and Macau (184) they qualify for the AFC Asian Cup....
Shanghai SIPG (CHN) vs Urawa Red Diamonds (JPN) It will be a tussle for the top spot in Group F when Shanghai SIPG host Urawa Red Diamonds in a round three encounter in Group F. Both outfits have been in fantastic form and have won both their initial games in the group. While Urawa Red Diamonds have been banging in the goals, Shanghai recorded their biggest ever victory in the AFC Champions League when they took apart Western Sydney Wanderers 5-1 in the last round....
Khalifa Alhammadi scored a 96th-minute goal to see Al Jazira overcome Persepolis 3-2 in Abu Dhabi. Godwin Mensha’s second-half penalty looked set to give the Iranian visitors the upper-hand after Henk ten Cate’s Al Jazira had come from behind to lead 2-1. But there was late drama, Alhammadi heading in a Mbark Boussoufa set-piece to give the hosts a hard-fought win. In Doha, a brace from Boualem Khoukhi led Al Sadd to a 2-1 win over Al Ahli....
The Asian Football Confederation will conduct the draws for the 2013 AFC Champions League and AFC Cup 2013 knockout stages at the AFC House in Kuala Lumpur, Malaysia on June 20, 2013. India will be represented in the AFC Cup quarterfinals by Kolkata giants East Bengal, who have been impressive at the continental level in the first half of the season. On can only hope that with a new coach and squad, they can continue their success in September....
The winners of the tie are set to take on Tajikistan’s FC Istiklol on August 22. Home United, who will be hosting the first leg, defeated Philippine’s Global FC in the semifinals to reach this stage and will be hopeful of scalping yet another Philippine team. Home United will be looking towards their 2004 batch for inspiration who reached the semifinals of the inaugural edition of this tournament. The key player for Home United will be striker Stipe Plazibat who has made a habit of scoring crucial, late goals and Home United will be looking for him to fire yet again....
The star of the night for the Indonesian side was their 26-year-old winger Rijo Simanjuntak who was in flying form during the game, recording three assists for the four goals Persija scored on the night. Rezaldi Hehanusa controlled a cross from Riko and fired home expertly for the opening goal. Riko slid the ball across for Novri Setiawan who side-footed the ball into an open net in the 51st minute....
The AFC claimed a 27-6 victory in Orlando, Florida on Sunday. The NFC fell behind 20-0 and did not score until there was just over nine minutes remaining. Both teams were having fun and players got to experiment and play in unfamiliar positions. Kansas City Chiefs quarterback Patrick Mahomes took home offensive MVP honours. The AFC swept the competition, as New York Jets safety Jamal Adams took home defensive MVP award....
Baltimore lost 13-3 at Cleveland on Saturday afternoon. That dropped them behind Cincinnati in the divisional race. Then, the Bengals followed up the Ravens’ loss with a win, beating Tom Brady’s Buccaneers on Sunday 34-23 after coming back from 17-0 down. The Bengals were able to win thanks to a strong performance by their defense. Cincinnati forced four Buccaneers turnovers in the second half en route to outscoring Tampa Bay 31-6 after intermission....
The Lions of Teranga made a slow start to the tournament. That put their status as one of the favourites in doubt, especially after they struggled in the group stage. Aliou Cisse’s side won one game and drew their two other Group B games. Even more damning was the fact that they scored just a single goal during the group phase, a strike that came through a penalty. However, Senegal have been a different beast in the knockouts....
West Indies’ skipper, Kieron Pollard will expect his men to pull off a better show with the bat. The West Indian bowlers have done a commendable job in both the games with Kesrick Williams stealing the show courtesy of his six wickets in the two matches. Afghanistan will rest their hopes on the trio of Rashid Khan, Mohammad Nabi and Hazratullah Zazai once again while Janat can prove to be the ‘X-factor’....
Chaos ensued at Kabul’s international airport, with dozens trying to hold onto evacuation plans as they take off. After video circulated online of Afghans clinging to planes as they took off, many people compared the scene to the fall of Saigon. At least seven people died during the evacuation efforts and U.S. troops shot two armed individuals at the airport Monday, Pentagon Press Secretary John Kirby told reporters. At a United Nations Security Committee meeting, officials expressed concern over the Taliban’s human rights abuses and called for an end to violence and the establishment of a new government in Afghanistan that is “united, inclusive and representative—including with the full, equal and meaningful participation of women....
A combined fantasy XI between Kandahar and Paktia will be heavily skewed towards the latter’s favour. While the Knights are at the bottom of the table with two defeats in as many matches, the Panthers have won two out of three matches and consequently occupy the top spot. One of the opener’s slots is a no-brainer. Paktia skipper Mohammad Shahzad seems to be batting on a different level at the moment....
AEW has now lined up a stacked card for the second night of New Year’s Smash. The Elite will reunite for a six-man tag team match, and as of this writing, the opponents have not been revealed. Kenny Omega and The Young Bucks will team up for the mystery match. Don Callis announced the following after the latest AEW Dynamite episode: Also announced for the episode is a special Waiting Room segment in which Cody Rhodes will be the guest....
He also talked about Orange Cassidy, praising him for getting an unconventional character over with fans. In the opening contest of this week’s AEW Rampage, Adam Cole teamed up with Bobby Fish to face Orange Cassidy and Wheeler Yuta. The tag team bout kept the Chicago fans engaged, who were particularly loud for Adam Cole and Orange Cassidy’s interactions. The match ended with Fish executing an Avalanche Falcon Arrow on Yuta to seal the win for himself and Cole....
Jon Moxley was due to undergo a significant tweak in his gimmick, prior to Tony Khan’s announcement about his break. A top star teased a character change in an exciting interview. A WWE Hall of Famer and Attitude Era legend was asked to recreate D Generation X using AEW stars. Darby Allin spoke about his relationship with Sting and a former AEW world champion gave his thoughts on MJF’s scathing promos in recent weeks....
Jim Valley said that Jericho spoke with him after the match and said he was banged up after the match. Jericho believed that he had to get checked out once he got back to the United States. Valley said: (H/T WrestlingNews.co) With that said, Chris Jericho did do the press conference after the match and said that he wanted both AEW and NJPW to put aside their differences and work together....
Most of the time, fans see the Young Bucks mocking or criticizing someone with their witty tweets and bios. But in their latest update, the duo has touched on a very heartfelt issue. The Young Bucks took to Twitter to announce they’d updated their bio. In the new version, Nick and Matt Jackson stated that when they retire, there will be no goodbye speech, and they won’t do a farewell tour....
Interestingly, the response garnered a reply from former WWE Superstar and current All Elite Wrestling star, Shawn Spears. The former Tye Dillinger seemed happy that the report wasn’t true, and added that $1 million seems too low. Spears added a hashtag to finish off the tweet, and it looks like he wants WWE to pay Lynch a lot more than $1 million a year. Check out the tweets below:...
