AFC Women's Asian Cup qualifiers : DPR Korea 8-0 India

AFC WOMEN'S ASIAN CUP QUALIFIERS MD1: GROUP B PREVIEW

Pyongyang: With a trophy cabinet few in the continent can match, Group B hosts DPR Korea enter their opening AFC Women’s Asian Cup Jordan 2018 qualifier against India on Monday as favourites, but head coach Kim Kwang-min has cautioned his charges to approach the South Asians with the same focus and discipline that has seen his side emerge as a dominant force on the world stage.

AFC Women’s Asian Cup Jordan 2018 qualifiers set to begin

“It is very important for us to have a good start when we play India. We must admit that we have little information about them so it is crucial to prepare well and play at our best. We have set our sights on qualifying for the FIFA Women’s World Cup 2019 in France and we need a good result against India to have the assurance that we can succeed in this qualifying campaign," said Kim. 

Meanwhile, India’s head coach Sajid Yousuf Dar is conscientious of the threat posed by DPR Korea and is hoping his side’s team spirit will transform their stellar regional form into greater success on the continental stage in Pyongyang. 

“It will be an uphill battle to face the hosts in the first match. They are one of the best teams in Asia and they are very good going forward and equally sound at the back," declared the former All India Football Federation  (AIFF) youth coach, who guided India’s women’s side to gold at the South Asian Football Federation (SAFF) Women's Championship and the South Asian Games last year.

“It will be a challenge for our players, but we are working hard and improving on the technical aspects of our game to overcome the challenge. On video, DPR Korea have a solid defence and a fluent attack. We aim to strengthen our ability to play as a team and focus less on individual skill to give them a good fight,” added the 42-year-old Kashmiri native. 

In the other Group B match, Hong Kong will take on Uzbekistan with both teams looking to make a strong start in a formidable group which also includes heavyweights Korea Republic. Neither side has appeared in the finals of the AFC Women’s Asian Cup since the introduction of the qualifiers phase in 2006, but Hong Kong coach Chan Shuk Chi believes her side can gain an early advantage after carefully studying her opponents. 

“Uzbekistan are physically a very strong side. They are especially aggressive in pressing when we have the ball so we will have to be compact with our approach, particularly in defence and look to break on the counter attack,” explained coach Chan who recalled vividly their previous encounter against Uzbekistan in the qualifiers for the 2014 Rio Olympics.

“They deploy a very direct style by playing long balls and we will try to close them down quickly to prevent any long passes behind our back line.”

Equally eager to establish a quick foothold in the group, Uzbekistan coach Babakulov Sherali is adamant his side is well positioned to collect all three points against his East Asians opponents. “Hong Kong are a team we know very well. We have played many times over the years from the age-group levels to the senior team. We have won almost all our previous encounters with them. Tomorrow’s match is no different, we are very confident we can do well against them,” said the 33-year-old. 

Matchday One
April 3, 2017, Monday

Group B
DPR Korea v India
Kick-off: 1500hrs
Venue: Kim Il Sung Stadium, Pyongyang

Hong Kong v Uzbekistan
Kick-off: 1800hrs
Venue: Kim Il Sung Stadium, Pyongyang

http://www.the-afc.com/womens-asian-cup-2018/afc-womens-asian-cup-qualifiers-md1-group-b-preview

AFC U-23 CHAMPIONSHIP 2018 HOPEFULS LEARN THEIR OPPONENTS

uala Lumpur: Forty AFC U-23 Championship China 2018 hopefuls discovered their qualifying opponents during the stage's official draw at AFC House in Kuala Lumpur, Malaysia on Friday.

The ten group winners and five best second-placed teams among all the groups will advance to the finals. The qualifiers will take place from July 19 to 23, 2017 in the respective host countries which are Kyrgyz Republic, Saudi Arabia, Qatar, United Arab Emirates, Palestine, Myanmar, DPR Korea, Thailand and China PR.

Although directly qualified as the finals host, China PR have expressed interest to participate in the qualifying stage. Therefore, if China PR finish top of their group or finish among the five best second-placed teams, the next (sixth) second-placed team will qualify to the final stage of the competition in January, 2018.

WEST Zone (West + South + Central)

Group A
A1. ISLAMIC REPUBLIC OF IRAN
A2. OMAN
A3. KYRGYZ REPUBLIC (host)
A4. SRI LANKA

Group B
B1. IRAQ
B2. SAUDI ARABIA (host)
B3. BAHRAIN
B4. AFGHANISTAN

Group C
C1. QATAR (host)
C2. SYRIA
C3. INDIA
C4. TURKMENISTAN

Group D
D1. UNITED ARAB EMIRATES (host)
D2. UZBEKISTAN
D3. LEBANON
D4. NEPAL

Group E
E1. JORDAN
E2. TAJIKISTAN
E3. PALESTINE (host)
E4. BANGLADESH

EAST Zone (East + ASEAN)

Group F
F1. AUSTRALIA
F2. MYANMAR (host)
F3. SINGAPORE
F4. BRUNEI DARUSSALAM

Group G
G1. DPR KOREA (host)
G2. LAOS
G3. CHINESE TAIPEI
G4. HONG KONG

Group H
H1. THAILAND (host)
H2. INDONESIA
H3. MALAYSIA
H4. MONGOLIA

Group I
I1. KOREA REPUBLIC
I2. VIETNAM (host)
I3. TIMOR-LESTE
I4. MACAU

Group J
J1. JAPAN
J2. CHINA PR (host)
J3. CAMBODIA
J4. PHILIPPINES

DPR KOREA – MALAYSIA AFC ASIAN CUP QUALIFIER TO TAKE PLACE ON JUNE 8

Kuala Lumpur: The Asian Football Confederation (AFC) announced on Wednesday at its headquarters in Kuala Lumpur that the AFC Asian Cup UAE 2019 Final Qualifying Round match between DPR Korea and Malaysia, originally scheduled for March 28, 2017 in Pyongyang, will now take place on June 8, 2017. 

Following the AFC Competitions Committee’s decision to postpone the match on March 10, the AFC has since written to DPR Korea Football Association on March 13 asking it to nominate a neutral venue by April 14, in the event the bilateral diplomatic relations between the two countries have not returned to normal.

Should the match be played in a neutral venue, the match between Malaysia and DPR Korea scheduled for November 14, 2017 in Malaysia will also be played at a neutral venue to preserve sporting values and the spirit of fair play. 

AFC General Secretary Dato’ Windsor John presented the AFC’s match competition principles and the decision-making process, which led to the postponement of the match. 

He said: “The match has now been confirmed to take place on June 8, 2017, taking into consideration that the first match must be played before the second match day on June 13, 2017 to fulfil the match sequence principle, and the available FIFA Match Days in the AFC Calendar of Competitions 2017.”

http://www.the-afc.com/media-releases/dpr-korea-%E2%80%93-malaysia-afc-asian-cup-qualifier-to-take-place-on-june-8

AFC POSTPONES DPR KOREA AND MALAYSIA MATCH

Kuala Lumpur: The Asian Football Confederation (AFC) Competitions Committee have on Friday decided to postpone the AFC Asian Cup UAE 2019 Final Round Qualifier between DPR Korea and Malaysia.

The match was scheduled to be played in the DPR Korea capital Pyongyang on March 28, 2017 but the AFC Competitions Committee have taken the decision to postpone the tie after escalating diplomatic tension between the Governments of DPR Korea and Malaysia.

A new date for the game will be announced in due course.

AFC CUP 2017 - GROUP I: 4.25 SC 6-0 ERCHIM FC

Pyongyang: In the battle of the AFC Cup debutants visitors Erchim FC were hit for six as 4.25 SC striker Kim Yu-song netted five goals in a 6-0 rout at May Day Stadium on Tuesday.

Four of Kim’s goals came in the first half in a little over 30 minutes as the DPR Korea-side opened Group I in explosive fashion with the Mongolian Premier League champions struggling to cope in their 2017 AFC Cup opener.

Kim added his and 4.25’s fifth just before the hour mark, and then substitute Om Chol-song added the final goal of the night with 13 minutes remaining as the DPR Koreans enjoyed a fine start to life in the continental competition.

http://www.the-afc.com/afc-cup-2017/match-report/competition/821/season/2017/matchid/906696

DPR Korea in Cyprus Women's Cup