Asia Cup Quarterfinals Schedule

Bit of a lift here around the Tavern since Korea’s 0-1 win over hosts Australia last weekend -with the win, Korea tops Group A. Clean sheets in all 3 group matches? Check. A goal scored in each match? Check. 3 wins/no draws/no losses and though they didn’t look convincing in the first 2 games, it sure looked better in the last one.  Been listening to the Flaming Lips cover of the Beatle’s Sgt Peppers – and yes, I admit -it does feel like it’s getting better all the time. This isn’t a proper preview but let’s take a quick look at the Asia Cup quarterfinal schedule and Korea v Uzbekistan goes first:

Thursday January 22  @ Rectangular Stadium, Melbourne: Korea v Uzbekistan 

Time: 2:30 am US EST / 4:30pm Korea Time   

US Broadcast: One World Sports

Couple things to note:

• Some Tavern readers, particularly in the US do not have One World Sports as part of their cable package. Not surprising, few do – we at the Tavern don’t have it. So, there are ways around that. I can’t exactly mention it right here in this post what the solutions are precisely, but check the Tavern twitter account or other Tavern writers handles, one of us should post a link before the game. They may not be exactly stable, there’s no guarantee that the links will work without glitches, but if it does keep fizzing out – keep trying and check out the BSK forum as well for additional links.
• US West Coast Tavern goers have a bit of an advantage, they can view the game at a more reasonable time with a 11:30 pm late Wednesday night kickoff.
• Injury status: Lee Chung-Yong (tibia hairline fracture) and Koo Ja-Cheol (ligament damage) are out of the tournament unfortunately. Park Joo-Ho is recovering and should be available. Kim Ju-Young, not sure yet, but different reports cite he was out of the game vs Australia with the cold / flu or an injury incurred during practice.  Several players, including Son Heung-Min presumably have recovered from the flu.
• Korea earned an extra 1 day rest by winning group A last Saturday. That could prove crucial in the tournament, seeing as Korea has been battered by injuries and illness.

And for the rest of the quarterfinals, this on Thursday:

and Friday rounds out the other quarterfinals

If Korea advances past Uzbekistan, likely the path to the Asia Cup would go like this:

Semifinal: Korea v Iran on January 26      4am EST / 6pm Korean Tme

Should they advance here, on to the title match

Final: Japan v Korea on January 31        4am EST / 6pm Korean Tme

Not Asia Cup related, Kim Bo-Kyung was not in the 18 for Cardiff’s loss to Middlesbrough yesterday – as expected since it’s likely he will transfer -but where?  Will the Celtic come through?   Or a surprise other club?

Yun Suk-Young has apparently recovered from his ankle injury, though he didn’t feature in QPR’s 0-1 loss to Man U last Saturday. Be on the lookout for his return to the pitch for the R’s.

Hwang Hee-Chan scored in his debut for his club, on loan from his parent club Red Bull Salzburg. We’ll try to continue to track the 18 year old in his efforts to make his mark in Europe.