The Asian Game

Football chooses us. We chase the highs. And one day… the game ends.   Host Ryan Walters sits with players seconds from a World Cup Final as their careers flash before their eyes. Matches, milestones, moments, mistakes, people. This is football in full life, in full vision. This is Tunnel Vision.   In this episode, Ryan sits down with Filip Nguyen, the Czech-born goalkeeper who spent nine years ch...

Australia's campaign at this FIFA World Cup, and by extension that of Asia's, has come to an end after going down on penalties to Egypt in Dallas. Did Australia make the most of their opportunity? Where did they fall short? And what positives are there to take for the future? Michael Church joins us from Dallas to answer those questions, plus we discuss the shock news that Al Nassr have appointed...

Japan's campaign has ended at the Round of 32 after a narrow 2-1 loss to Brazil despite taking a first half lead through Kaishu Sano. Where did it go wrong in the second half? Is Moriyasu the right man to take this team forward and, with a premature exit, how do we assess their campaign? Joining us to answer those questions are ESPN's Gabe Tan from Houston, and Michael Church in Dallas. Be sure to...

After the conclusion of the marathon group stage, only two of Asia's nine teams remain, with Japan and Australia the only nations progressing to the Round of 32. So how do we grade Asia's performance at this World Cup? We're joined by Bassil Mikdadi to run through all nine teams and give them a grading based on their group stage performance? Who gets an A? Which nations get an F? Be sure to follow...

There was heartbreak for Iran in Seattle, with a stoppage time winner being overruled by a marginal offside call; a result that would have secured them second place in the group and automatic progression to the knockout rounds. Hope still exists, however, of progressing as one of the best third-placed teams. There is no hope for Saudi Arabia and Iraq, meanwhile, who both departed the tournament wi...

After a day of double disappointment on Wednesday, Japan and Australia reversed Asia's fortunes with both nations collecting the draw required to see them safely through in second place in Group F and D respectively. We cross to Dallas to hear from Michael Church and ESPN's Gabe Tan to get their reaction to Japan's performance, while Scott McIntyre joins us from Vancouver to discuss Australia's go...

It was a day of huge disappointment, as one of Asia's heavyweights, Korea Republic, slipped up in their final group stage fixture to miss out on automatic progression to the knockout rounds in a performance that posed many questions as to the credentials of this side. In Seattle, meanwhile, Qatar showed fight but were ultimately defeated by Bosnia & Herzegovina to end their campaign. We're joined...

Despite the hope offered by Jordan, who took the lead against Algeria, it's been a humbling 24 hours for Asian teams as all of Iraq, Jordan and Uzbekistan tasted defeat. While Iraq and Uzbekistan came up against teams fancied to go all the way in the form of France and Portugal respectively, Jordan fancied their chances against fellow Arab nation Algeria, and for a period it looked like an histori...

Football chooses us. We chase the highs. And one day… the game ends.   Host Ryan Walters sits with players in the ultimate what-if scenario: seconds from a World Cup Final as their careers flash before their eyes. Matches, milestones, moments, mistakes, people. This is football in full life, in full vision. This is Tunnel Vision.   In this episode, Ryan sits down with Charyl Chappuis, the Swiss-Th...

Iran and Saudi Arabia enter the final matchday with their destiny in their hands, but after two vastly differing performances. Saudi Arabia were humbled by a rampant Spanish outfit, and now need to regroup ahead of their final clash with Cape Verde. Iran, meanwhile, showed resilience in a backs-to-the-wall performance against Belgium, walking away with a point after a goalless stalemate. We're joi...

Japan have registered their first win of this FIFA World Cup in emphatic style, with a history-making 4-0 win over Tunisia in Monterrey. Scoring four goals for the first time in a World Cup game, the margin was also the biggest winning margin of any Asian nation in the history of the World Cup. We're joined from Japan by journalists Sean Carroll and Ryo Nakagawara to break down the result and what...

In one of the most hotly anticipated clashes of the group stage given the build up to the game, Australia fell well short against a hot United States, who ran out 2-0 in front of a parochial home crowd in Seattle. But having dropped both goalscorers from the game against Turkiye, did Popovic get his selections and tactics correct? And what changes could we see as we look ahead to a crucial clash a...

After a positive start to their campaign against the Swiss, Qatar came back to earth with a thud after a humiliating 6-0 defeat at the hands of Canada. With two red cards that saw them finish the game with nine players, anything that could go wrong did go wrong. We cross to Scott McIntyre in Vancouver for his reaction, while we also speak with Steve Han in Guadalajara just after Korea Republic's n...

For a while after Abbosbek Fayzullaev equalised, Uzbekistan teased another mammoth result for Asian football but it wasn't to be as they eventually succumbed 3-1 to Colombia in their FIFA World Cup debut. How did they fare? When did they come up short and who stood up the most? We discuss all of that, plus take a look at Asia's overall performance from the opening round. Be sure to follow The Asia...

It had to end eventually, but finally Asia's undefeated streak at this FIFA World Cup has come to an end after Iraq and Jordan suffered defeats to Norway and Austria, 4-1 and 3-1 respectively. We're joined by freelance journalist, and founder of Football Palestine, Bassil Mikdadi to digest and dissect both results and answer where it went wrong. Be sure to follow The Asian Game on all our social m...

Asia remains undefeated at the 2026 FIFA World Cup after Saudi Arabia and Iran both earned draws in their opening fixtures in North America. But the way in which they were achieved, and the context, is vastly different for both. After taking a first-half lead, Saudi Arabia conceded late against Uruguay to settle for a point. Meanwhile, Iran had to come from behind twice against a plucky New Zealan...

Asia's unbeaten run at the FIFA World Cup 2026 has continued after Japan twice came from behind against the Netherlands to draw 2-2 in Dallas. Goals from Keigo Nakamura and Daichi Kamada earned Japan a valuable point against the top-five ranked Dutch outfit. To dissect the result we're joined from Dallas by both Michael Church and ESPN Asia's Gabe Tan to look at what the result means, Japan's over...

Continuing Asia's superb start to this FIFA World Cup, Qatar created history by earning their first ever point at the FIFA World Cup with a 95th minute equaliser against Switzerland to set up their campaign in Group B. While that result started the day, Australia closed out the day in style with a stunning 2-0 win over Turkiye thanks to goals from Nestory Irankunda and Connor Metcalfe. We're joine...

For Asian football, opening days don't come much better than this with Korea Republic registering a huge come-from-behind 2-1 victory ove Czechia to kickstart their FIFA World Cup 2026 campaign in the best possible style. Marking their first opening game win at a World Cup since 2010, the win sets Korea up nicely to progress from Group A. We're joined by Steve Han from Guadalajara and Scott McInty...

The final team to qualify for the FIFA World Cup 2026 is also the final team in our World Cup preview series, and that is Iraq. Back on the global stage for the first time in 40 years, the Lions of Mesopotamia now have Australian Graham Arnold at the helm. How important will his World Cup experience be? Is this the moment for their exciting crop of young talent to shine? While Scott explains why A...

Another nation making their debut at this year's FIFA World Cup, Jordan are a nation that consistently flies underneath the radar, despite making the Final of both the AFC Asian Cup and FIFA Arab Cup in recent years. Why is that so? How much will they miss Yazan Al-Naimat? And how important is Mousa Al-Tamari? We answer those questions and much more. Be sure to follow The Asian Game on all our soc...

One of two debutant nations for Asia at this FIFA World Cup, Uzbekistan has shed their bridesmaid tag and are ready to shine on the international stage. But with a controversial change of coach, is this team ready to perform under Fabio Cannavaro? And in a difficult group, just what is possible for the White Wolves? We answer all those questions with our resident Uzbek expert, Martin Lowe. Be sure...

In the third and final part of our FIFA World Cup previews, we cast our over over two of the debutant nations in Uzbekistan and Jordan, as well as Iraq who are making their return to football's global showpiece for the first time in 40 years. Is Uzbekistan ready for this moment? How big is the loss of Yazan Al Naimat? And, how important in Graham Arnold's experience for Qatar? We answer those ques...

The most talked about national team heading into this year's FIFA World Cup, Iran's campaign has been clouded by the ongoing US-Israel war and the political situation surrounding the team. It's from that situation that star striker Sardar Azmoun has been left out, and we discuss the implications of that, as well as other key injuries, as well as the age profile of the team as we ask whether this i...

Four years after shocking the world in Qatar, what does the FIFA World Cup 2026 have in store for the Green Falcons? Can they shock the world again? What will such a late change of coach do to their fortunes, and is this team, that scored only ten goals in qualifying, capable of finding the back of the net? We discuss all of that, plus get the thoughts of Arab News reporter Mohammed Fayad on Georg...