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Persepolis finishes 4th in Matchworld
Iran’s Persepolis finished at fourth place after losing to Zilina in the 2011 Matchworld Cup on Wednesday. ... Full story
Iranian ref hangs up whistle
Iranian football referee Masoud Moradi announced his retirement on Wednesday. ... Full story
Javad Nekounam says no rift with Ghotbi
Iran football captain Javad Nekounam denied ever being at odds with coach Afshin Ghotbi in the 2011 AFC Asian Cup. ... Full story
Ghotbi says goodbye to Iranian football - for now
Iranian coach Afshin Ghotbi bid farewell to Iranian football on Saturday - a week earlier than he would have liked - but possibly not forever. ... Full story
Ghotbi expects another ‘classic’
Coach Afshin Ghotbi is expecting another “classic” encounter when Iran renew acquaintances with Korea Republic in the AFC Asian Cup Qatar 2011™ quarter-finals on Saturday, but believes his side have the quality to maintain their bid for a record fourth continental title. ... Full story
Referee lowdown: Iran versus Korea Republic
AFC Referee of the Year Ravshan Irmatov will referee the Iran versus Korea Republic quarter-final match at the Qatar Sports Club on Saturday. The match starts at 1925 hours. ... Full story
Cho cool on Ghotbi’s ‘inside knowledge’
Korea Republic coach Cho Kwang-rae has shrugged off suggestions that Afshin Ghotbi’s experience of Korean football could give the Iran boss the tactical edge when the two Asian football superpowers clash in the last eight of the AFC Asian Cup Qatar 2011™ on Saturday. ... Full story
Koreans will have Iran on the run quips Cha
Defender Cha Du-ri believes it is Iran that should be scared of Korea Republic when the two sides meet in the quarter-finals of the AFC Asian Cup Qatar 2011™ at Qatar Sports Club Stadium on Saturday. ... Full story
Japan 3-2 Qatar
Masahiko Inoha’s last-minute goal sent 10-man Japan through to semi-finals of the AFC Asian Cup Qatar 2011™ at the expense of hosts Qatar as the Samurai Blue edged a thrilling match 3-2 at Al Gharafa Stadium on Friday. ... Full story
We fear no one, proclaims Park
Korea Republic midfielder Park Ji-sung struck a defiant tone ahead of the Taeguk Warriors’ AFC Asian Cup Qatar 2011™ quarter-final clash with three-time champions Iran. ... Full story
Taeguk Warriors versus Team Melli
The 22nd of January 2011 will see two giants of the Asian football scene clash at the Qatar Sports Club for the fifth time in the quarter-finals of the AFC Asian Cup. ... Full story
Iraq 1 -0 North Korea
Iraq limped into the quarter-finals of the Asian Cup after a lacklustre 1-0 win over North Korea in Doha on Wednesday. ... Full story
IRAN 3-0 UAE
A second-string Iran team defeated the United Arab Emirates 3-0 on Wednesday to send the Gulf nation out of the Asian Cup in a match both teams finished with 10 men. ... Full story
Assured Iran to test reserves players against UAE
The already-qualified Iranian football team will play the UAE with its reserve players in the last match of the group stage in the 2011 AFC Asian Cup. ... Full story
Fifth successive clash of Iran, S. Korea
Iran will face South Korea in the quarterfinal round of the 2011 AFC Asian Cup in the fifth successive edition of this competitions. ... Full story
Bring on Iran: Cho
Korea Republic boss Cho Kwang-rae insisted he was unconcerned over his side's inability to take their chances in the 4-1 AFC Asian Cup Qatar 2011 victory over India that set up an intriguing quarter-final tie with Iran, stressing they would have to beat Afshin Ghotbi's side if the Taeguk Warriors want to claim their third continental title. ... Full story
Korea Republic 4-1 India
Ji Dong-won scored twice as Korea Republic sealed their place in the AFC Asian Cup Qatar 2011 quarter-finals with a 4-1 win over India. ... Full story
Australia 1-0 Bahrain
Australia cemented their place in the quarter-finals of the AFC Asian Cup Qatar 2011™ with a narrow 1-0 victory over Bahrain at Al Sadd Stadium on Tuesday. ... Full story
Peseiro gets the boot; Al Johar steps in
Saudi Arabia coach Jose Peseiro has been sacked after the Sons of the Desert suffered a humiliating 2-1 defeat to unfancied Syria in their opening Group B game of the AFC Asian Cup on Sunday. ... Full story
Bagheri recalls Team Melli magic of 1996
In the eyes of many who witnessed their performances at the 1996 edition of the AFC Asian Cup, Iran were the team that could – indeed should – have won the continental championship when the tournament was played in the United Arab Emirates. ... Full story
Syria shock Saudi Arabia 2-1 in Asian Cup opener
Two deflected strikes from midfielder Abdulrazak Al Husein handed Syria a surprise 2-1 win over Gulf giants Saudi Arabia in their Asian Cup Group B opener in Qatar on Sunday. ... Full story
Ravshan Irmatov to officiate Iran v Iraq clash in Asian Cup
Ravshan Irmatov from Uzbekistan has been chosen to officiate Iran’s football match against Iraq in the 2011 AFC Asian Cup. ... Full story
Japan 1-1 Jordan
A stoppage-time header from Maya Yoshida rescued Japan as the three-time Asian Cup champions drew 1-1 with Jordan in their AFC Asian Cup Qatar 2011™ Group B opener at Qatar Sports Club Stadium on Sunday. ... Full story
Makino, Sakai out of Japan squad
Japan have replaced injured player Tomoaki Makino (No 20) with Mitsuru Nagata and Gotoku Sakai (No 12) with Ryota Moriwaki. ... Full story
Ghotbi makes bold title statement
Afshin Ghotbi has no doubts. “Iran is going to end their 35-year title drought.” ... Full story
Kuwait 0-2 China
Goals from Zhang Linpeng and Deng Zhuoxiang ensured China made the perfect start to their AFC Asian Cup Qatar 2011™ campaign with a 2-0 win over 10-man Kuwait at Al Gharafa Stadium on Saturday. ... Full story
First red card goes to Kuwait’s Nada
Kuwaiti defender Mesaed Nada became the first player in the 15th edition of the AFC Asian Cup to be red-carded. ... Full story
Groundhog Day
IranSportsPress.com - The Asian Cup in Qatar is a recurrent story for Iranian football since 2000, when we first thought about actually winning the competition again. The question is whether we will finally break the loop or not, but it looks like another February 2nd. ... Full story
Iran can win, says Zob Ahan star Khalatbari
Zob Ahan star Mohamed Reza Khalatbari is confident Iran are on target to win the AFC Asian Cup Qatar 2011™ tournament this month. ... Full story