Harry Kewell’s hopes of making the Qantas Socceroos’ squad for the upcoming World Cup qualifiers have taken a blow after being released by Al Gharafa. Kewell signed with the Qatar Stars League side in early April as cover for injured compatriot Mark Bresciano until the end of the season. The sometime Socceroo scored one goal in four appearances for Al Gaharafa, but with the QSL coming to a close and Bresciano returning to full fitness, Kewell was released this week and is once ... » Read more

Luck’s a fortune or in the case of Guangzhou Evergrande it’s worth a fortune, with Central Coast Mariners coach Graham Arnold adamant luck played a huge part in his side falling 2-1 to the Chinese giants in the first leg of their round of 16 tie in Gosford. Arnold happy with the performance of his team, but lamenting the amount of luck Paraguayan star Lucas Barrios and Chinese national keeper Zeng Cheng fell into on the night. “The performance was very good. I thought we had our ... » Read more

Central Coast Mariners face an uphill battle to qualify for the quarter-finals of the Asian Champions League after falling 2-1 at home to a slick performance from Chinese side Guangzhou Evergrande. Coming off consecutive 3-0 wins in the Chinese Super League, the Marcello Lippi-coached side were opened up early when young tyros Berni Ibini and Mitchell Duke combined as the Mariners sprung out of the gates. Duke's opener earned the hosts the lead with a deflected strike as early as ... » Read more

On a drama-packed night in Gosford, the Central Coast Mariners have qualified for the knock-out phase of the AFC Champions League despite a 3-0 loss to J.League side Kashiwa Reysol. The Mariners were bidding to become the third Australian side after Adelaide United and Newcastle to qualify for the knockout stage of the ACL. Graham Arnold's men knew prior to kick-off that if they failed to win, they were relying on Guizhou Renhe failing to beat the Suwon Bluewings in their ... » Read more

Edward Wilson scored either side of Muhummah Iskandar for Semen as they moved four points clear of Kitchee at the top of the table and a step closer to a spot in the last 16 in their debut in the tournament.

In the other group game, Warriors collected their first three points after three straight defeats with a 1-0 victory over Churchill Brothers.

Group C leaders Duhok of Iraq crushed Oman's Dhufar 6-1 to make it three wins from four while Al Faisaly drew level with them on nine ... » Read more

The Chinese Super League champions went ahead through a first-half double from Brazilian Muriqui and had further goals from Zheng Zhi and Feng Xiaoting after Sarawut Masuk had halved the deficit for the Thai champions.

Zheng set up Muriqui with a delightful ball for the first before Dario Conca produced a near carbon copy to gift the Brazilian his second.

Zheng's failed clearance eventually fell in front of Masuk as he halved the lead on 54 minutes with a header but he atoned for ... » Read more

The J.League runners-up went ahead through former Japan international's Atsushi Yanagisawa header in the first half and held firm to move level with second-placed Buriram United on five points in Group E.

K-League champions Seoul came close to equalising in the 59th minute when Dejan Damjanovic's long-range effort hit the crossbar.

The loss in Sendai still sees Seoul lead the group from Thai outfit Buriram, who defeated Jiangsu Sainty 2-0.

J.League champions Sanfrecce ... » Read more

The proposed match against Mihailo Petrovic's side in the Saitama City Cup will take place on Friday July 26 at the Saitama Stadium, which follows shortly after the Gunners' other scheduled clash in the country against Nagoya Grampus on Monday July 22.

It marks a return to the country for manager Arsene Wenger, who managed Nagoya Grampus between 1995-96 prior to moving to the Premier League.

And he admitted his pleasure at having the opportunity to visit the East Asian nation once ... » Read more

The Central Coast Mariners surrendered a one-goal advantage to go down 2-1 to Guizhou Renhe in the AFC Champions League on Tuesday with a largely second-string side. Mitchell Duke's first-half penalty looked to have sealed a crucial, and perhaps unexpected, three points for the Mariners, until two quality goals inside two minutes lifted under-fire Guizhou to a vital win. Zlatan Muslimovic lifted spirits among the frustrated hosts when he fired into the far corner on 84 minutes and ... » Read more

The hosts went 3-0 up through goals from Mohamed Umair, Ali Fasir and Mansa Sylla before Adama Kone struck a goal back for Yangon.

Maldives' New Radiant moved ahead of Myanmar club Yangon on goal difference with both sides on nine points.

In the other group match, Hong Kong outfit Sun Hei SC hammered tournament whipping boys Persibo 8-0 for their first win but they still remain third in Group F.

Mamadou Barry bagged a hat-trick in the romp while Liang Zicheng and Leung Tsz ... » Read more