Last night I watched Korea beat Iran in a marathon match and now the red devils will have to take on the blue samurai. well it's a no brainer who the hell i'm rooting for unless maria ozawa or sakura sena was my gf but they ain't.

i think if you look at it the koreans have a better defense, but the japanese have a better offense. the koreans had a huge long match where japan only played 90 minutes. japan should be better rested but can they play a 120 minute football match. i think the score will be korea 1-0, or japan 2-1. it is really a toss up but history does favor korea because they lead the series.

in the other semi i think the socceroos are gonna end uzbekistan's dream run. i bet a lot of ppl don't even know where this country is, all i knew it was a former soviet state back in the days of the ussr. too bad the koreans didn't win the group or they would play them and not japan who should be respected.

i'm amazed as well that the country of qatar will be hosting the world cup in 2022. even though they have 12 years to prepare i've seen deadlines go to the wire. well hopefully they can host a good world cup because football is truly an international sport.

living in hk i've grown fond for football. i use to play it as a kid but didn't think much about it. i think football is a great sport, even though there isn't much scoring. i would argue that there would be no harm in making the goals bigger but that's my opinion not a decree that the sport should change.

all i know is for sure i will be watching on espn or star sports live at 9pm this tuesday the taeguk warriors have my support. it should be a great game because it is always a great rivalry. Korea vs. Japan

Hmm that will be an interesting match, wondering where I can catch it, with many Korean babes around me! I am definitely rooting for the tigers!

i'm rooting for japan. really love the way the blue samurai attack attack and attack, and that under an italian coach (whom are usually very defense oriented) is absolutely awesome to watch.

even though their recent record against the koreans is a bit abysmal, im very sure they can pull it off. goodness, did you see the way they played against qatar? 1 man sent off and yet, they can still pull through!

Qatar should be ok for the 22 WC unless they run out of oil before that!

i'm pretty sure you can catch it at some sports bar. i just have the now tv sports package. i'm glad i do so i can catch the super bowl and also i get to watch UFC fights. also i'm sure you can just google the game and find a free site that is showing the game.

very true jack as long as qatar has the money it should be fine. they have now hosted the asian cup twice and did a decent job. they did mess up in hosting the asian games. i would argue though hosting wc is more difficult than the asian games. i think it would be a good ideal that they play the games in cooler months. when i flew to doha for a transfer and you get off the plane to get to the terminal. then you get on a bus so you are exposed to the summer heat. man it is hot, true no humidity but it is a strong dry heat.

Just for you, I'll be rooting for your team, just like I did during the world cup.  I do think Korean and Japan are much of a muchness, so it could go either way.

true but i think korea has gotten much better coaches. the coaches in the 80's and 90's for korea were just terrible. now they have coaches that understand the game and are somewhat on the level with european coaches. japan has a good coach as well. the coach made a good call in putting in number 8 near the end of the 2nd half cause that guy ended up scoring the winning goal. sports are like chess you have to make the right moves at the right time

did you guys watch the sk jpn match yesterday? effinh awesome! asian football is excellent!

it was a very good match. i wish korea would have won the group and instead of playing japan play uzbekistan. i think japan and australia will be a very good match up. who will win it's a coin flip. but if the koreans are smart they will win the 3rd place game so they automatically qualify for the next asian cup

i was actually quite dissappointed by uzbekistan's performnce against the aussies. they were really good in the group stages but they just lost the plot entirely in the semis. have to agree that koreans were good as well, its such a pity though but there ca. only be one winner unfortunately.

it will be a very interesting final.

experience was lacking.  Aussies have been through 2 WCs recently and so can handle big games.  Really feel sorry for Korea.  Park deserved the cup since he is retiring from Intl football

Hiddink did an excellent job with Korea in the WC

i felt they gave the aussies way too much respect and simply let the aussies boss themiddle of the park like no one's business.

yes good old gus was a huge supporter of park. what is a true measure of a good coach is taking a player seeing the potential and developing that player into a great player.

as for the uzbekistan team i was shocked. i thought they would come out with the world against us attitude and play mean and nasty. the aussies said screw you and scored on them at will. you don't get many shots at shocking the world and they had a chance. the aussies are the highest ranked team in asia and if they would have pulled off an upset the football world would have heard it.

AUSSIE   AUSSIE   AUSSIE   Australia!!!!!!!!

NOOOO!!!

NIPPON!!!!!

On a more serious note, i think the aussies have the edge here. The consistency of the aussies to grind out results coupled with the defence vulnerabilities of the japanese dont bode too well for the blue samurai

obviously I am hoping AUS wins, however for what it's worth, I am a big fan of Maria Ozawa, Ichiro Suzuki, Hideki Matsui and Tuna Sashimi!


Sporting contests between Japan and Korea are often fiercely fought, very exciting and competitive. The Japan v Korea game in the World Baseball Classic a couple years ago was amazing!

[ Last edited by  TonyToro at 26-1-2011 18:50 ]

you should have seen the friendly between korea and japan recently last year, the korean fans unfurled a banner (and a huge ass one) reminding Japan about WWII.

i remember that one. ichiro hit the game winner. it was a good game. like the football game. korea came back but japan closed it out in the end. if i were an aussie player i would have a chip on my shoulder. i was really shocked the world cup was given to qatar and not australia. australia hosted the olympics and it is a rising economic power. yup i was shocked when the aussie dollar over took the us dollar. i think they want to stick it to host asian cup country by winning it.

past korea vs japan rivalry matches. kim yuna beat mao asada in the 2010 winter olympics. last asian games in china korea got 2nd japan got 3rd. in the bejing games in baseball korea won the gold medal beating cuba but beat japan in the semis to get there

Not sure what you mean by rising economic power, as there's only so much rising you can do given our population and we are certainly not a developing country. Like I said earlier, japan and korean are much a muchness so it could've gone either way. If we win the final, that's nice, but I think the only true competition is the world cup - if we made it to the quarters or beyond (or even knocked england out of the tournament), that would mean more to me.