Third-place face-off a matter of west Asian pride

MELBOURNE — After falling one game short of an Asian Cup finals appearance, Iraq and the United Arab Emirates will play for Middle Eastern supremacy in the third-place playoff in Newcastle today, reported the Associated Press.

Iraq lost to South Korea 2-0 and the UAE went down to hosts Australia 2-0 in the semi-finals this week, eliminating the last chance of a west Asian team reaching the final.

Iraq, the 2007 Asian Cup champion, struggled for opportunities against South Korea’s solid defence in Sydney, despite the best efforts of talismanic striker Younis Mahmoud.

“I know they (South Korea) won and went to the final, but we won also, we won 20 (experienced) players,” said Mahmoud, who says he is turning his attention to the 2018 World cup qualifiers. “They will benefit the national team for the next 10 years.”

UAE, who knocked out defending champions Japan 5-4 on penalties in the quarter-finals, could not find a breakthrough against Australia despite another leading performance by star Omar Abdulrahman.

After an impressive run to the semi-finals, UAE coach Mahdi Ali conceded his players lacked the focus to progress further.

“This is a big lesson and we need to learn you have to concentrate for 90 minutes, and mistakes are not acceptable as you lose the game,” Ali said.

The UAE and Iraq have met twice before in the Asian Cup, with each team winning one match each.

Meanwhile, hosts Australia could receive a timely boost ahead of tomorrow’s final against South Korea in Sydney, with defender Ivan Franjic set to recover sufficiently from a hip problem.

The Sydney Morning Herald reported that the Torpedo Moscow defender underwent scans on Wednesday that did not reveal any serious damage.

“It’s nothing serious or something that would ordinarily keep him out of a game,” said Australia coach Ange Postecoglou.

“I doubt there’s a footballer left in this tournament who is 100 per cent. Once they cross that white line, you assume everyone is going to give everything they’ve got. He (Franjic) is in the same boat as the other 22, who are still in recovery mode as well.”

South Korea are the only team to have beaten Australia in this tournament — a 1-0 win in their final Group A match nearly three weeks ago — but since then, the Socceroos have picked up momentum, particularly veteran forward Tim Cahill.

The 35-year-old, who plays for the New York Red Bulls in United States Major League Soccer, scored twice in their semi-final win over the UAE.

While Cahill is likely to retain his place in the starting line-up, Postecoglou suggested there could be changes. He said: “(On) Friday, we have a session at the stadium, so we’ll see how everyone pulls up. But I wouldn’t envisage too many changes. We’ll just wait and see.” AGENCIES

AFC Asian Cup on Singtel TV Ch115 and StarHub TV Ch209:

Today — 3rd/4th placing: Iraq v UAE (4.50pm)

Tomorrow — Final: Australia v South Korea (4.50pm)