The two sides last faced each other in February 2010 at Oita Stadium, battling to a scoreless draw.

Since that match, Japan has enjoyed a resurgence after the World Cup under coach Alberto Zaccheroni, while Venezuela placed fourth in last year’s Copa America.

The South American nation are in provisional third place in the Conmebol standings with seven points from four matches, while Japan begins the final leg of their World Cup qualifying campaign in August with matches against Oman, Jordan and Australia.

The hosts may be without their younger players, depending on the country’s performance at the 2012 London Olympics.

Following the friendly, Venezuela will travel to Peru and Paraguay in early September, while Japan host Iraq at Saitama Stadium before travelling to face France in an October friendly.

Source: soccerway.com

Second-half goals from Takahiro Ogihara and Hiroshi Kiyotake were enough to put the 1968 bronze medallists through as Group C winners with 15 points from their six games, three more than runners-up Syria who will have one final shot at Olympic qualification via the play-off in Vietnam later this month.

Urawa Red Diamonds midfielder Genki Haraguchi crossed for Cerezo Osaka’s Ogihara to open the scoring for Japan 10 minutes after the break.

And there was to be no way back for Bahrain, who had harboured faint hopes of reaching the play-offs, when Kiyotake netted four minutes later.

“I have a lot of players with potential. We qualified for the Olympics, but this is merely a start,” said Japan’s coach Takashi Sekizuka. “It was really tough to get through the Asian qualifying rounds and I feel relieved.”

Source: jfa.or.jp

While the match was academic with the DPR Korea having already sealed their place at the top of Group B and India playing for nothing but pride having lost their previous two matches, the defending champions showed no mercy to the 2008 winners and went ahead after just three minutes.

Jang Kuk-chol provided a clever back pass to unmarked Jon Kwang-ik who coolly guided the ball past Indian keeper Subhashis Roy Chowdhury, who was playing his first match of the tournament.

The Koreans scored their second goal after Subhashis’ weak attempt to clear a Ri Chol-myong cross fell into the path of an unmarked Ri Kwang-hyok as the Koreans went 2-0 up with ten minutes of first-half left to play.

India’s solitary chance of the entire match came in the 38^th minute but out-of-form striker Sunil Chettri, who was later replaced by Sathyan Sabeeth, fired the ball over the cross bar, with DPR Korea keeper Ri Myong-guk a mere spectator throughout the game.

The Koreans’ dominance continued after the break as Pak Nam-chol scored his second goal of the tournament when he dribbled past three Indian defenders and Subhasish to put the ball in the empty net and make it 3-0 in the 59^th minute.

Ri Chol-oyong, creator of Korea’s first goal, registered his name in the score-sheet in the 68^th minute with a brilliant header to seal the comprehensive 4-0 win.

DPR Korea will meet Palestine in Friday’s semi-finals after Group A winner Turkmenistan takes on surprise package the Philippines, who eliminated Tajikistan with an impressive 2-1 come-from-behind win.

Source: the-afc.com

The two sides last met back in May, 2008 in the qualifying tournament for the second edition of the AFC Challenge Cup and, with home advantage, the Philippines held the eventual finalists to a goalless draw.

But on the neutral venue of Kathmandu’s Halchowk Stadium with a place in the semi-finals of the 2012 AFC Challenge Cup at stake it was the South East Asians on top with a thoroughly deserved victory.

Defender Alexey Negmatov gave the Tajiks the lead in stoppage-time of a first-half dominated by the Philippines, who levelled the contest nine minutes after the interval when Phil Younghusband scored his third of the tournament.

And with ten minutes left to play Angel Guirado, who set up Younghusband’s equaliser, scored the goal the made Challenge Cup history for the Philippines.

Three minutes after Tajikistan kicked-off the Philippines crafted the first chance of the match when Ray Jonsson whipped a cross in from the left that narrowly missed the head of Phil Younghusband, who scored both goals in the Philippines’ 2-0 win over 2008 champions India, before being safely gathered by Tajik keeper Alisher Tuychiev.

Three minutes later it was the Tajiks turn to threaten with Dzhakongir Dzhalilov racing onto a long ball over the top of the Philippines defence only for keeper Neil Etherdidge to sprint sharply out of his area to clear the danger.

In the tenth minute it was Tuychiev’s turn to keep the scoreline blank after the Istikol keeper stood strong to block a power angled drive from Phil Younghusband after being set up by a well-placed pass from his older brother James.

Tajikistan defender Sohib Savankulov misjudged a speculative long ball towards the Tajik goal giving Phil Younghusband another opportunity but the ball didn’t run kindly for the former Chelsea reserve and the 32^nd minute chance went begging.

The Philippines had the upper-hand and just as it was looking like the sides would go into the break level Fatkhulo Fatkhuloev’s stoppage-time corner was headed goalward by Negmatov and while the Azkals claimed skipper Emelio Caligdong had cleared the danger the assistant referee consulted match official Ryuji Sato to say the ball had crossed the line and the Tajiks went 1-0 up against the run of play.

The goal seemed to deflate the Philippines are started the second-half without the vigour of the opening period but things changed in the 54^th minute when Angel Guirado robbed Davronjon Ergashev on the left channel, charged to the byline and fired the ball past Tuychiev and across the face of goal where Phil Younghusband was on hand to fire the ball into the empty net for his third of the tournament.

The equaliser lifted the Philippines but it was the Tajiks that next came close to scoring only for Dzhalilov to screw his close-range shot wide when well positioned to at least test Etheridge on the hour mark.

Seven minutes later the Philippines came agonizingly close to taking the lead when Phil Younghusband’s shot beat Tuychiev but not the inside of his right-hand post.

With ten minutes left to play the Philippines got the goal their pressure deserved with Guirado bravely heading home from close range, with the burly midfielder getting the better of Tuychiev and covering defender to send the Azkals through to a final four meeting with Turkmenistan.

Source: the-afc.com

DPR Korea dominated the first-half but were denied a 16^th minute lead when Azkal’s keeper Neil Etheridge saved a retaken Pak Song-chol penalty.

The midfielder had thought he had netted his ninth AFC Challenge Cup goal to equal the tournament record set by Palestine’s Fahed Attal but Indian referee Pratap Singh ruled out the goal citing encroachment inside the box.

Etheridge, who only arrived in Nepal on Wednesday, was in inspired form denying the 2012 FIFA World Cup qualifiers on ne fewer than five occasions as the Philippines went into the break on level terms with the AFC Challenge Cup favourites.

The North Koreans finally broke through the resilient Philippines defence courtesy of Pak Nam-chol’s 58^th minute header before Etheridge – an understudy to Australia international Mark Schwarzer at English Premier League club Fulham – failed to deal with a high cross from the right, allowing substitute Jang Kuk-chol to double the defending champions’ lead 11 minutes later.

DPR Korea sought to add to their tally and laid siege on the Philippines goal but a combination of some staunch defending and fine keeping from Etheridge kept the scoreline respectable.

Source: the-afc.com

Australia, Japan, Iraq, Jordan and Oman were put into Group B by Iranian legend Mehdi Mahdavikia and former Japanese star defender Tsunyasu Miyamoto during the draw in the AFC House in Kuala Lumpur on Friday.

The top two of each group will directly qualify for the 2014 Word Cup in Brazil, while the two third-placed teams will face each other in a two-legged playoff. The winner of the playoff will face a South American team in another two matches with the winner also qualifying for the finals.

Source: persianfootball.com

The Socceroos were paired with reigning Asian champions Japan at the draw in Kuala Lumpur on Friday. Iraq, Jordan and Oman are also in Group A

“I think (Japan] still have the same quality players as before,” Osieck told Fox Sports Australia after the draw.

“It’s going to be a tough one, but I’m really looking forward to it, because Japan are definitely a better-quality opponent than some of the Middle Eastern countries.”

The Samurai Blue will see another familiar face when they square off against Iraq and former Japan manager Zico on September 11.

The final round of qualifying begins on June 3, 2012 and will run until June 18 of next year. The top two teams in each group will advance to the 2014 World Cup finals, while the third-place teams will go head to head in the fifth round and the winner will proceed to face a representative from Conmebol in the play-off for the chance to go to Brazil.

“We knew long before the draw which position we were in that we had to play one Middle East team, so I agreed to play Denmark to have one weekend in Europe and from there to fly to the Middle East, which is only six hours – which for Australian standards is pretty good,” Osieck said.

“That is the only real logistical issue we have to contend with, other than that I’m pretty happy.”

“We are working from Monday when we will talk about all the logistics. I will travel to Europe to scout, to talk to players – I will have a look if I can add a couple of new faces.”

“It’s going to be tough , especially the road games, so we have to be ready to start from minute one.”

Group B features South Korea, Iran, Uzbekistan, Qatar and Lebanon.

Source: soccerway.com

The Socceroos will look to avenge their defeat at the hands of Samurai Blue in the 2011 Asian Cup final, when they lost 1-0 in extra time on Tadanari Lee’s volley strike.

Because of Japan’s scheduled appearance in the 2013 Confederations Cup, the reigning Asian champions were placed in Group B’s fifth slot after Iran was drawn for Group A’s second slot.

Australia’s position was decided only at the very end of the draw, when South Korea was selected for Group A.

Japan will host Oman on June 3 and Jordan on June 8 before facing Australia in Brisbane on June 12, while the Socceroos open their campaign on June 8 at Oman.

Group A: South Korea, Iran, Uzbekistan, Qatar, Lebanon. Group B: Australia, Iraq, Jordan, Oman, Japan.

Source: soccerway.com

It may not, however, be the turf the 26-year-old is eager to tread, as the striker is emerging as a candidate for a wild card pick for the Under-23 squad at the London Olympics in July. A wild card refers to an overage player and each team is allowed to pick up to three.

However, there is significant opposition to his selection in that it has to do with exemption from his military service, not the team’s achievement.

On Thursday morning, Korea punched its ticket to the upcoming Summer Games by winning 3-0 away to Oman to book the nation’s seventh consecutive Olympic appearance.

However, the young Korean footballers are faced with a looming question mark in the forward position on the road to London.

In the qualifier against dead last Saudi Arabia earlier this month, Hong Myung-bo’s side trailed the Saudi squad for most of the match after allowing their opponents to get on the scoreboard first. They missed several scoring chances, exposing their lack of a cutting edge in front of goal. The game ultimately which finished tied at 1-1 thanks to midfielder Kim Bo-kyung’s goal in stoppage time.

Their lack of experience is seen as another area that needs to improved fix in order to secure a podium finish in London,.

In qualifying, Kim Hyun-sung and Kim Dong-sub were mainly employed up front, but the former, who has netted twice in the last four qualifying matches, is expected to remain in the squad until the Olympics, while the latter is likely to yield his slot to Park.

Despite spending most of his time on the bench with Arsenal, Park has been impressive in international fixtures, recording 23 goals in 57 appearances, the second best among active Korea internationals, just behind Lee Dong-gook’s 25 goals from 86 matches.

In addition, Park was called up to Hong’s side for the Guangzhou Asian Games in 2010, where Korea took home a bronze medal.

Not featuring for the English club could also help him join the Under-23s without a hitch.

However, critics say that the Olympics should not be exploited as a mean to relieve Park of his military duty. A Korean male athlete can only be exempted from mandatory military duty if he earns a gold medal at the Asian Games or a podium finish at the Olympics.

Football fans say that Park has hardly featured for Arsenal, so the Korean team should not gamble on him.

History is not on Park’s side either.

Thus far, the Korean football team has failed to take advantage of overage players at the quadrennial event.

Olympic manager Hong was called up for the Under-23 squad as a wild card at the Sydney Games in 2000 but he went down with an injury.

In the 2004 and 2008 Olympics, senior team players including Yoo Sang-chul were fielded, but failed to lift the nation to a medal finish.

Hong said Thursday on his return from Oman that it is premature to mention wild card picks.

The 18-player Olympic roster is scheduled to be finalized in June.

Source: The Korean Times

At Jeonju World Cup Stadium, about 240 kilometers south of Seoul, forward Lee Dong-gook and midfielder Kim Chi-woo each scored twice, as South Korea fended off a late Uzbek charge.

Lee Dong-gook, the reigning MVP of the domestic K-League, opened the scoring for the home team in the 18th minute. After taking a pass near the penalty spot with his back to the net, Lee turned around and caught Uzbek defender Anzur Ismailov off balance before shooting it past keeper Ignatiy Nesterov.

Lee scored his second just before the first-half whistle, this time shooting it past two defenders after a nifty setup by Lee Keun-ho just inside the box.

Substitute Kim Chi-woo made it 3-0 for South Korea about 30 seconds into the second half, heading in a perfect cross from Kim Shin-sook deep in the Uzbek zone.

With the game seemingly in hand, Korean defenders turned lethargic over the game’s final 20 minutes, allowing the Uzbeks to slash the deficit to one.

First, it was Anvar Rakhimov putting the visitors on board with a left-foot strike in the 77th minute. Four minutes later, Stanislav Andreev converted a penalty, awarded after Cho Sung-hwan fouled a Uzbek player following his turnover.

But Kim Chi-woo put the game out of reach for good with a curling free kick goal in the dying moments.

Despite the late defensive collapse, the victory bodes well for South Korea before its World Cup qualifier against Kuwait next Wednesday.

The showdown in Seoul will be the teams’ final match in the penultimate World Cup qualification round. Despite leading Group B this round with 10 points, South Korea will be eliminated if it loses to Kuwait and if Lebanon defeats or draws the winless United Arab Emirates (UAE) in the other Group B match Wednesday.

With Lebanon heavily favored to beat the UAE, South Korea’s contest against Kuwait is virtually a must-win situation.

Korea is tied with Lebanon in points but is ahead in the goal differential tiebreaker, plus-8 to minus-2. Kuwait is in third with eight points, well within reach of the top spot.

Only the top two nations from each of five groups in the ongoing round will advance to the fourth and the final qualification phase.

As the leader in Group C, Uzbekistan has already booked a berth in the next round. It didn’t travel with captain Server Djeparov, the 2008 and 2011 Asian Footballer of the Year, and striker Alexander Geynrikh for this contest.

This was the first international match for Choi as the national team head coach. He was named the bench boss in December, replacing Cho Kwang-rae after Korea’s 2-1 upset loss to Lebanon in November.

Source: The Korean Times