Thrilling Week in Asian Football: Upsets and Victories

Asian football saw major action as Auckland FC held their top spot despite a loss, Iraq won their Gulf Cup opener, Hong Kong secured a spot in the East Asian finals, and Thailand will face the Philippines in the Asean Championship semi-finals.

Auckland FC, despite suffering a heavy 4-0 defeat by Western United, maintain their leading position in the A-League. Western United climbed to fifth place, benefited by goals from stars like Riku Danzaki and Noah Botic, while Melbourne Victory and City ended in a 1-1 draw.

Iraq kicked off their Gulf Cup title defense strongly by edging out Yemen 1-0, thanks to Aymen Hussein. Meanwhile, Bahrain triumphed over Saudi Arabia 3-2. In other matches, Kuwait and Oman shared points with a 1-1 draw, as did Qatar and the United Arab Emirates.

In the East Asian scene, Hong Kong dominated Guam 5-0 in the preliminaries of the East Asian Championship, securing a finals spot alongside host South Korea, Japan, and China. Thailand, after leading Group A, will face the Philippines in the Asean Championship semi-finals, as Singapore battles Vietnam.

(With inputs from agencies.)