Sonylijin: World Football Trials | Soccer Tryouts

Following a dominant AFC Asian Cup 2019 opener against Yemen, Islamic Republic of Iran coach Carlos Queiroz reveals the team’s focus was what gave them the 5-0 victory. The competition had a quick start, with a few surprises in the earlier matches – most notably defending champions Australia losing to Jordan. However, IR Iran were good enough to stop any possible upsets to come their way as they ran rampant against Yemen. Mehdi Taremi’s brace led the way for the three-time champions, with Ashkan Dejagah, Sardar Azmoun and Saman Ghoddos also finding the back of the net as the team cruised to victory to start their AFC Asian Cup campaign. Speaking to AFC, Queiroz praised his players for doing their jobs well. He said: “Of course, it is always good to win and have a positive result when you have scored plenty of goals, as it gives the team the perfect start in terms of motivation and confidence. “I really want to congratulate my players for the way they played. W

The 2019 AFC Asian Cup beckoned for India after an eight-year absence. However, the Blue Tigers were pitted against Southeast Asian heavyweights Thailand in their first match. Nevertheless, that didn’t stop the Indian captain Sunil Chhetri from scoring two goals, taking him above Lionel Messi in terms of national team tally. For almost a decade now, Sunil Chhetri has been Indian football’s saviour. And he played the role yet again as he scored two crucial goals to give India the lead against Thailand. However, in doing so, the Indian skipper achieved another feat: He overtook Lionel Messi’s international goal tally for Argentina! Chhetri’s tally of 67 is two more than Lionel Messi, who sits at 65. Meanwhile, Chhetri’s two-goal heroics also mean that he is the second-highest active international goalscorer at the moment. The Indian skipper scored his 66th international goal from the penalty spot to give India the lead. However, soon after Thailand’s very own Mr

​​ India got their AFC Asian Cup 2019 campaign off to a stunning start on Sunday as they humiliated dark horses Thailand with a 4-1 Group A win at the Al Nahyan Stadium. Veteran striker Sunil Chhetri played a pivotal role with a brace that sandwiched Teerasil Dangda’s equaliser, before Anirudh Thapa and Jeje Lalpekhlua also got in on the act to seal an emphatic victory for the Blue Tigers. The result – coupled with Saturday’s 1-1 draw between United Arab Emirates and Bahrain – means India currently find themselves top of Group A and already find themselves in a strong position to advance to the Round of 16. Yet, even the most hopeful of Indian fans are unlikely to have dreamed of what eventuated on Sunday against an opposition highly rated by many, although they certainly had reason to dream when they took the lead in the 27th minute. Released down the left by a quick throw-in, Ashique Kuruniyan saw his shot saved by Chatchai Budprom only for the rebound to st

Defending champions Australia suffered a shock upset in their AFC Asian Cup 2019 opener at the hands of Jordan in Group B as the Arab nation recorded a narrow 1-0 victory at the Hazza Bin Zayed Stadium in Al Ain on Sunday.  The Socceroos were shell-shocked when experienced centre-back Anas Bani Yaseen punished the sleeping Aussies defence giving the Jordanians the lead in the 26th minute. And that goal proved to be the difference between the two sides as the reigning champions looked lost for ideas for the most part of the game. The first opportunity of the match fell to Jordan at the end of a quick counter as right-winger Yousel Al-Rawashdeh’s sharp drive from 20 yards out forced Aussies custodian Mathew Ryan to dive to his left to save in the 11th minute. Two minutes later, there was a chance at the opposite end when Awer Mabil produced a save from Amer Shafi. However, the Socceroos will soon be stunned as Jordan took the lead in the 26th minute from a corner k

Ahead of India’s clash against Thailand in the opening match of the Blue Tiger’s campaign in the AFC Asian Cup UAE 2019, Goalkeeper Gurpreet Singh Sandhu stated that “India will be playing for a win.”     Speaking at the Official Pre-Match Press Conference, Gurpreet said: “It will be a challenge for us tomorrow against Thailand. But the boys are ready to face them. We will play for a win.”     “We have worked really hard in the last four years to be here. We will try to put on the best show possible. The boys have been doing the hard work on and off the pitch. We need to make sure the work does not go in vain,” he added. “We are proud of the self-belief which we have acquired.”     The Blue Tigers have been drawn in Group A of the AFC Asian Cup alongside hosts UAE, Thailand and Bahrain. This is India’s fourth qualification to the Continental Championship with time only in their history with the last qualification being in 2011. The Blue Tigers, had f

Abu Dhabi: Sunil Chhetri & Co’s moment of truth in the Asian Cup starts with India’s Group A fixture against Thailand at the Al Nahyan Stadium on Sunday. The action starts at 7:00pm IST. Thailand, much like India, are also seeing a similar transition like their counterparts and they will be keen to make their presence felt straight away. More so, as tough contests lay ahead in the group that also comprises of hosts and formidable outfits UAE and Bahrain. Either side will be aware that any slip-up and it will be a telling blow to their dreams of progressing from the group. India come into the contest at the back of playing three warm-up matches and their British coach Stephen Constantine would be pretty pleased with it. The Blue Tigers drew goalless against China and Oman and lost to Jordan 2-1. This is Constantine’s second stint with the Indian team and his contract is also up for renewal soon after this tournament. He too will have plenty to prove thi

Abu Dhabi: UAE rallied from a goal down to pull out a 1-1 draw in the dying minutes against Bahrain in the Group ‘A’ opening fixture of the AFC Asian Cup at the Zayed Sports City Stadium on Saturday. At half-time, the scoreboard read 0-0. For Bahrain, Mohammed Al Romaihi scored while Ahmed Khalil drew level through a penalty for UAE. UAE started off positively but then there was a sudden dip in their performance and their lack of co-ordination came to the fore. It was surprising to see coach Alberto Zaccheroni not start with striker Khalil and mid-fielder Mohammed Abdul Rahman. Key defender Ismail Ahmed's absence due to injury also made the backline brittle. Just six minutes into play, mid-fielder Ismail Al Hammadi made a defense splitting run from the left and only had the lone on-rushing Bahrain goalkeeper Sayed Shubbar Alawi to beat. However, Al Hammadi’s final touches eluded him as the ball went just wide of the far post. Then minutes later, Ali Mabkho