With less than a week to go for the start of AFC Asian Cup Qatar, Kyrgyzstan checked into Doha on Saturday even as many teams tested their readiness for the tournament in friendly matches.
Kyrgyzstan – who are participating in the continental tournament for the second time in its history – are in Group F along with Saudi Arabia, Oman and Thailand.
Coach Stefan Tarkovic is confident his team can emulate, if not better, their 2019 achievement. The Central Asian side advanced to the Round of 16 four years ago in UAE and Tarkovic said being drawn in a tough group wouldn’t deter his team from targeting a place in the knockout stage.
Kyrgyzstan punched above their weight in the 2019 edition as they advanced to the last 16 despite being drawn in a group which included South Korea and China.
Despite losing to both teams, the Central Asian side refused to give up and a spectacular performance against the Philippines in their final group match saw them walking away with a 3-1 win, which was enough to secure them a place in the knockout stage. Their adventure was ended by the United Arab Emirates, but only after a valiant performance with the hosts needing extra time to advance 3-2.
A much more experienced squad will be in Qatar and Kyrgyzstan Group F opponents will do well to not take them lightly. They open their campaign with a match against Thailand on January 16 at Abdullah bin Khalifa Stadium.
On Friday, they drew 1-1 with Syria with Ibrahim Hesar’s 71st minute strike cancelling out Ayzar Akmatov’s 48th minute opener for Kyrgyzstan.

Duke scores in Australia’s friendly win
Meanwhile, Australia earned a 2-0 win over Bahrain in a friendly match at the Baniyas Stadium in Abu Dhabi on Saturday. A second half goal from Mitchell Duke put the Socceroos two up after a Bahrain own goal in the first half opened the scoring. Gethin Jones made his debut for Australia, while Sam Silvera was given his first start for his country. Australia open their Asian Cup against India at the Ahmad bin Ali Stadium on January 13, with tickets sold well in advance for the clash. They then take on Syria on January 18 at the Jassim Bin Hamad Stadium, before facing Uzbekistan on January 23 at the Al Janoub Stadium.
On Friday, Iran produced a solid performance to defeat Burkina Faso 2-1, their final friendly on home soil ahead of the Asian Cup. Mohamed Konate gave Burkina Faso the lead after 12 minutes but Porto forward Mehdi Taremi equalised for Team Melli before the half-time break. Omid Ehbrahimi got the winner for Iran in the 70th minute as the three-time Asian Cup winners showed they are in good form ahead of tournament.