Cahill on song as Australia crush India

DOHA: An impressive Australia crushed India 4-0 to get their Asian Cup campaign off to a decisive start with red-hot Everton star Tim Cahill scoring a brace.

Played at an Al-Sadd Stadium packed with noisy expatriate Indians, a convincing win was needed by the Socceroos to demonstrate their tournament credentials against a team ranked 142 in the world. They comfortably delivered with the dangerous Cahill, playing up front as the lone striker, a constant threat.

He got the opener in the 11th minute before former Liverpool man Harry Kewell made it 2-0 14 minutes later. Brett Holman added a third on the stroke of half-time before Cahill completed the demolition in the second half.

Their start was in stark contrast to four years ago at their maiden Asian Cup, where they stumbled to a draw with Oman before losing to eventual winners Iraq.

Saudis in turmoil after coach fired

Saudi Arabia’s quest for a fourth Asian Cup lay in tatters on Monday after they sacked beleaguered coach Jose Peseiro in the wake of an embarrassing 2-1 defeat to Syria in their opening game.

The Portuguese, a former assistant to Carlos Queiroz at Real Madrid, had been under intense pressure after he failed to get Saudi Arabia to last year’s World Cup.

Earlier, Syria shocked the 2007 finalists and three-time champions Saudi Arabia 2-1. Syria, who had to hold on for grim life in the end and survived several scares, had Abdulrazakal Husein to thank for the unexpected victory, the midfielder bagging a brace — both off deflections.

With relations with the Saudi media at an all-time low, Peseiro’s bosses immediately wielded the axe.

“We have sacked Jose Peseiro after the loss and appointed Nasser Al Johar to continue our mission at the Asian Cup,” said the Saudi Football Association in a statement in the wake of the humiliating defeat.

The Saudis, traditionally one of the region’s best teams, had been expected to compete for the Asian Cup crown alongside the likes of Japan, Australia and South Korea, but a brace from Abdulrazakal Husein sealed Peseiro’s fate.

‘We’ve won the battle, not the war’

Syria coach Tita Valeriu, a French-speaking Romanian, said nobody should be getting carried away just yet.

“This is only the first match and all the teams in the group still have a chance to advance to the next stage,” he said. “We might have won the battle, but we haven’t won the war.”

The Syrians, roared on at the Al Rayyan Stadium by their vocal travelling support, will be looking to pull off another major upset when they face Japan on Thursday.

Published in The Express Tribune, January 11^th, 2011.