Japan became the first team to qualify for the 2026 World Cup after second-half goals from Daichi Kamada and Takefusa Kubo gave them a 2-0 win over Bahrain on Thursday.... more »
Bahrain stunned Australia 1-0 away on Thursday thanks to an 89th-minute Harry Souttar own goal in a major upset to start the third round of Asian qualifying for the 2026 World Cup.... more »
Captain Wataru Endo warned that Japan's Asian Cup rivals will "exploit" their weaknesses after they wobbled before reaching the quarter-finals with a 3-1 win over Bahrain on Wednesday.... more »
Iran has protested to Iraq over the use of the name "Arabian Gulf" for a regional football competition held in the neighbouring country, state media reported Wednesday.... more »
Australian Prime Minister Scott Morrison has ramped up pressure on Bangkok to release a refugee footballer held on a Bahrain extradition request, as sporting authorities cancelled two events in Thailand over his detention.... more »
South Korea's Son Heung-min said he was blocking out thoughts of being tired as he slogs it out at the Asian Cup on the back of a frantic spell of football in recent months.... more »
Blond talisman Chanathip "Messi Jay" Songkrasin fired Thailand to only the second Asian Cup win in their history on Thursday as they beat Bahrain 1-0 to reignite their campaign.... more »
Hosts United Arab Emirates survived a scare to salvage a controversial 1-1 draw in their Asian Cup curtain-raiser against Bahrain on Saturday.... more »
Sayed Ahmed scored a glorious late chip as Bahrain shattered Qatar 2-1 and left the future World Cup hosts ruing a string of missed chances in their Asian Cup dead rubber on Monday.... more »
United Arab Emirates striker Ali Mabkhout scored after 14 seconds in one of the fastest goals in Asian Cup history to propel his side towards a 2-1 win over Bahrain on Thursday.... more »
Ehsan Hajsafi struck with a sumptuous volley in first-half stoppage time to propel Iran to a 2-0 victory over Bahrain in a tempestuous Asian Cup dust-up on Sunday.... more »
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