5 memorable openers

Kuala Lumpur: As the 2019 AFC Asian Cup UAE opener between the hosts UAE and Bahrain approaches, the-AFC.com looks at five memorable Asian Cup opening matches over the years.

The AFC Asian Cup opening match has not always seen the host have it easy, as there have been instances where we saw the host nation stunned on their home turf. Over the years, there were many a classic encounter which saw entertaining draws or a shock result that remains in memory.

1996: UAE v Korea Republic

The UAE hosted the AFC Asian Cup for the first time in 1996 and would face two-time winners Korea Republic in their opening match.

At Zayed Sports City in Abu Dhabi, the home crowd were stunned early into the match when Hwang Sun-hong scored in the ninth minute, but forward Khamis Saad capitalised on a defensive mistake to equalise for the hosts before the break.

The final result would be 1-1, and this was an early indicator of the UAE’s ability to hold their own against Asia's traditional powerhouses, as they went on to reach the final for the first time in their history.
2000: Lebanon 0-4 IR Iran

Lebanon had never qualified for the Asian Cup before 2000, and their introduction to the tournament was not an easy one. The draw pitted the Cedars against three-time winners IR Iran in the opening match.

While 52,418 fans gathered at the Camille Chammoun Sport City Stadium in Beirut, it was not enough for the home side to produce a memorable performance.

Karim Bagheri opened the scoring in the 19th minute for Team Melli, before Hamid Estili added two in the last 15 minutes of the game and Ali Daei put the icing on the cake in injury time to defeat Lebanon 4-0.

  2004: China PR 2-2 Bahrain

Prior to their appearance in 2004, Bahrain had only made it to the AFC Asian Cup on one occasion - in 1988 - and they were eliminated without a win to their name.

For China PR, expectations were huge on home soil, but facing them in the opening match were a different Bahrain side to those which had achieved little success in Asian football.

A resilient Bahrain side went into the half-time break 1-0 up thanks to Mohammed Hubail's 41st-minute strike. Zheng Zhi and Ji Linyu scored in the space of eight minutes to put China back in the lead, but Husain Ali snatched a late equaliser for Bahrain as the two sides shared the spoils.
2011: Qatar 0-2 Uzbekistan

Singapore, in 1984, were the last host nation to win their opening AFC Asian Cup match, and the curse continued into 2011 as Qatar welcomed Uzbekistan in front of 47,000 fans in Doha.

After a goalless first half, Odil Ahmedov struck one of the goals of the tournament, firing home from 40 yards out to put Uzbekistan in front in the 59th minute. Captain Server Djeparov deepened Qatar’s wounds with the second in the 77th minute.

Uzbekistan would go on to reach the semi-finals before losing 6-0 to Australia, while Qatar were knocked out at the quarter-finals by eventual winners Japan.

2015: Australia 4-1 Kuwait

The host nations' curse was finally broken in Melbourne as Australia became the first hosts to win their AFC Asian Cup opening match in three decades.

The Socceroos did so in style, putting four past Kuwait. It was, however, the Blues who got on the scoresheet first just eight minutes into the match through Hussein Fadhel.

Australia’s reply was fierce, as Tim Cahill and Massimo Luongo scored before half time to put the Socceroos 2-1 up. Mile Jedinak added the third with a trademark penalty kick in the 62nd minute, before James Troisi would score the fourth of the match in injury time.

Photos: Lagardère Sports

Source: the-afc.com