عربي English Türkçe اردو فارسى
Logo
Latest News
Sports

Football: Five Players Who Made a Name for Themselves at Asian Cup

Yazan Al-Naimat scores for Jordan against South Korea. Giuseppe CACACE / AFP
Yazan Al-Naimat scores for Jordan against South Korea. Giuseppe CACACE / AFP
TT
TT

Football: Five Players Who Made a Name for Themselves at Asian Cup

Yazan Al-Naimat scores for Jordan against South Korea. Giuseppe CACACE / AFP
Yazan Al-Naimat scores for Jordan against South Korea. Giuseppe CACACE / AFP

Jordan and hosts and holders Qatar will contest the final of the Asian Cup on Saturday.
AFP Sport picks out five players who made a name for themselves during the tournament:
Yazan Al-Naimat (Jordan)
Together with fellow attacker Mousa Al-Tamari, Naimat terrorized South Korea's defence in Jordan's 2-0 semi-final win.
Tamari is Jordan's only player in Europe but clubs across the planet will have taken note of Naimat's all-action performances over the past month.
The 24-year-old Naimat scored in a 2-2 draw with South Korea in the group phase, then added another against them in the semi-final. He also netted in a thrilling 3-2 win over Iraq.
Quick and direct, he has created 10 chances during the tournament, the joint second most among all players.
He currently plays for Al-Ahli in Qatar and the center-forward has 14 goals in 43 appearances for his club, plus 15 assists.
Mousa Al-Tamari (Jordan)
The 26-year-old wide attacker is a contender for player of the tournament after his goals and assists, along with Naimat's, helped propel Jordan into a first final in their history.
Tamari is with French side Montpellier and his displays in Qatar have showcased his talents to an even wider audience.
He started his tournament with a bang, hitting a brace in a 4-0 demolition of Malaysia, then rose to the occasion with a man-of-the-match role in the win over South Korea in the last four.
Pacy, skilful and hard working, Tamari set up Naimat for the first goal and 13 minutes later got in on the act by slicing through the Korean defense before unleashing a ruthless finish.
Oday Dabbagh (Palestine)
Palestine made history by reaching the Asian Cup knockout rounds for the first time and Dabbagh played a crucial role, chipping in with three goals.
The striker, who moved to Belgian side Charleroi last year, was a constant nuisance for defenders with his aerial prowess and poacher's instinct in front of goal.
Just turned 25 and playing in his second Asian Cup, his peak years are still ahead of him.
Palestine's tournament ended in a 2-1 defeat to Qatar in the last 16, but together with skipper and defender Musab Al-Battat, Dabbagh was their star performer.
Abbosbek Fayzullaev (Uzbekistan)
Uzbekistan's tournament ended in the quarter-finals on penalties to Qatar but there will be plenty more Asian Cups for Fayzullaev.
The 20-year-old attacker has been one to watch for a while now and he showed why in particular with the winner from outside the box against Thailand in the last 16.
As is expected from a young player, he flitted out of games occasionally, but it was the CSKA Moscow starlet's second goal of the competition and he was named man of the match.
Thailand's uncompromising defenders had had enough of him by the end and he asked to be substituted late on to avoid any more rough treatment.
Lucas Mendes (Qatar)
Forward Akram Afif hogged the headlines for Qatar but Mendes also played a key role in taking the hosts and holders to the final.
Born in Brazil, Mendes played for Marseille a decade ago and has Champions League experience with them, suffering defeats to Arsenal and Borussia Dortmund.
Only made his Qatar debut in November but has played his club football in the country for the past nine years.
Quietly effective at the back, Mendes used all of his experience and defensive nous to help Qatar breeze through the group stage without conceding a goal.

Most Viewed

 
 
Sports

A Bird Leaves Nothing Behind: The Lesson Behind Japan’s World Cup Stadium Cleanups

Japan supporters clean the stands at the end of the World Cup group E football match between Germany and Japan, at the Khalifa International Stadium in Doha, Qatar, Wednesday, Nov. 23, 2022. (AP)
Japan supporters clean the stands at the end of the World Cup group E football match between Germany and Japan, at the Khalifa International Stadium in Doha, Qatar, Wednesday, Nov. 23, 2022. (AP)
TT
TT

A Bird Leaves Nothing Behind: The Lesson Behind Japan’s World Cup Stadium Cleanups

Japan supporters clean the stands at the end of the World Cup group E football match between Germany and Japan, at the Khalifa International Stadium in Doha, Qatar, Wednesday, Nov. 23, 2022. (AP)
Japan supporters clean the stands at the end of the World Cup group E football match between Germany and Japan, at the Khalifa International Stadium in Doha, Qatar, Wednesday, Nov. 23, 2022. (AP)

If there's one country guaranteed to clean up at the World Cup, it's Japan.

Literally.

Scenes of Japanese football fans sweeping stadiums and picking up trash after a match first drew public attention in France in 1998 — Japan's first appearance in the World Cup.

The tradition has continued every four years. It happened at the World Cup in Qatar in 2022, and it's certain to continue when Japan opens play in June with group games in Arlington, Texas, and Monterrey, Mexico.

The cleanup astonishes non-Japanese who might be accustomed to leaving stadiums and stepping over half-eaten food, shredded paper wrappers, and cups — empty or with liquid dribbling out.

At the World Cup in Russia in 2018, Japanese players famously cleaned the dressing room after a loss and left a thank-you note in Russian. In 2022, fans left thank-you notes on rubbish bags written in Arabic, English and Japanese.

Why do Japanese behave this way? It's not that complicated. Beginning in elementary school, students are socialized to behave this way — in the classroom, in the school yard or on a playing field.

“Japanese sports fans at world events who clean up the stadium are behaving much the same way they did when they learned how to enjoy sports as school boys and girls,” Koichi Nakano, who teaches politics and history at Sophia University, told The Associated Press.

There is a phrase in Japanese that explains it.

“Tatsu tori ato wo nigosazu.”

The literal translation is: “A bird leaves nothing behind.”

Rendered in English the message is: “Return it the way you found it.”

Many Japanese elementary schools don’t have janitors, so the clean-up work is left to students. Office workers often dedicate time to sprucing up their areas.

Also, there are relatively few trash containers in public spaces in Japan, so people take their waste home with them. This keeps the sidewalks cleaner, saves the cost of emptying trash cans, and keeps away vermin.

“The way most ordinary soccer fans experience soccer at school is no different from other sports, and the emphasis is not just on physical education but also on moral education as well,” Nakano added.

Collective vs. the individual

Raised in Germany, Barbara Holthus is the deputy director of the German Institute for Japanese Studies in Tokyo. A sociologist, she agrees it's prudent not to put Japanese on a pedestal. Japan, like any country, has its own challenges and shortcomings.

“An academically sound explanation is that people in Japan just happen to be socialized different,” she told The AP. “If you grew up with a certain way of how things are being done, you apply that to even cleaning up a stadium afterwards.”

At work here is also the Japanese concept of “meiwaku,” which implies not causing trouble or annoying others. From the Japanese point of view, leaving rubbish piled up in a stadium would be a bother to others.

Japan is a relatively crowded place, and greater Tokyo alone has about 35 million people, almost the population of the entire state of California. People need to get along.

“Japanese learn early on that you don't want to inconvenience other people,” Holthus said.

She said the focus is often on the collective, compared with the West where the emphasis is on the individual and individual rights.

“You don’t want to bother people. It goes to all areas of life in Japan,” Holthus added. “We are raised (in the West) that we don’t have to clean up after ourselves in public spaces because there is going to be some kind of public service doing that.”

And because Japanese people have received widespread praise for the clean-up, the behavior has been reinforced.

“Now that the media has latched onto the story and lavished praise on Japanese fans, they have made it a point of pride to display those values and norms,” Jeff Kingston, who teaches history at Temple University in Japan, wrote in an email.

A Japanese tradition

The clean-up tradition is not limited to football’s marquee tournament. The same thing happened last year at the Under-20 World Cup in Chile as Japanese fans cleaned up after a match. And even more recently last month at Wembley Stadium in London where Japan defeated England 1-0 in an international friendly.

“It’s one of our traditions,” said Toshi Yoshizawa, who was leading the cleanup in Chile. “We grew up with the teaching that we should leave a place cleaner than when we arrived.”

William Kelly, an emeritus professor of anthropology at Yale University and a specialist on Japan, said the tradition is linked to football more than other sports. He speculated it's tied to the establishment of Japan's professional football league more than 30 years ago.

“It (the J-League) was trying to distinguish itself from baseball by emphasizing teams’ community embeddedness and commitment,” Kelly wrote in an email. “Soccer fans felt, and feel, more a part of the club and its stadium.”

Sports

Riyadh to Host Joshua vs. Prenga Showdown in July

Boxing - Jake Paul v Anthony Joshua - Kaseya Center, Miami, Florida, US - December 19, 2025 Anthony Joshua after winning his fight against Jake Paul. (Reuters)
Boxing - Jake Paul v Anthony Joshua - Kaseya Center, Miami, Florida, US - December 19, 2025 Anthony Joshua after winning his fight against Jake Paul. (Reuters)
TT
TT

Riyadh to Host Joshua vs. Prenga Showdown in July

Boxing - Jake Paul v Anthony Joshua - Kaseya Center, Miami, Florida, US - December 19, 2025 Anthony Joshua after winning his fight against Jake Paul. (Reuters)
Boxing - Jake Paul v Anthony Joshua - Kaseya Center, Miami, Florida, US - December 19, 2025 Anthony Joshua after winning his fight against Jake Paul. (Reuters)

Chairman of the Board of Directors of Saudi Arabia’s General Entertainment Authority Turki Alalshikh announced the return of British boxer Anthony Joshua to the ring in “The Comeback,” scheduled for July 25 in Riyadh.

The 36-year-old Joshua will fight Kristian Prenga, an Albanian with 20 victories and one loss.

Joshua’s last fight was a knockout victory over YouTuber Jake Paul on Dec. 19. Ten days later, he was injured in a car crash in Nigeria that killed two of his friends.

“It’s no secret I’ve taken some time to consolidate and rebuild to be ready for stepping back into the ring,” Joshua said in a Matchroom statement, “and today is the next step on that journey.”

In the statement, Joshua said the fight with Prenga is the first in a “multi-fight deal."

The event forms part of the Kingdom’s continued hosting of major international boxing matches, further cementing Riyadh’s status as a premier destination for global sports and entertainment.

The bout will be broadcast live worldwide on DAZN.

Sports

Man Utd Close in on Champions League Spot but Still Work to Do, Carrick Says

Manchester United interim manager Michael Carrick reacts after the English Premier League match between Manchester United and Brentford FC, in Manchester, Britain, 27 April 2026. (EPA)
Manchester United interim manager Michael Carrick reacts after the English Premier League match between Manchester United and Brentford FC, in Manchester, Britain, 27 April 2026. (EPA)
TT
TT

Man Utd Close in on Champions League Spot but Still Work to Do, Carrick Says

Manchester United interim manager Michael Carrick reacts after the English Premier League match between Manchester United and Brentford FC, in Manchester, Britain, 27 April 2026. (EPA)
Manchester United interim manager Michael Carrick reacts after the English Premier League match between Manchester United and Brentford FC, in Manchester, Britain, 27 April 2026. (EPA)

Manchester United's 2-1 win ‌over Brentford on Monday put them on the brink of Champions League qualification but interim manager Michael Carrick said they must keep pushing to finish as high up the Premier League table as possible.

The victory lifted United to third place on 61 points, 11 clear of sixth-placed Brighton & Hove Albion, with four games remaining.

With the top five qualifying for the Champions ‌League next season, ‌United need two more points ‌to ⁠seal their return ⁠to Europe's elite competition after a two-year absence.

"The Champions League is one thing, but it's not something that we should be over-celebrating either," former United midfielder Carrick told reporters.

"We want to be finishing high up the league really, ⁠and we want to be challenging ‌high up in the ‌league and trying to get more points so our ‌season doesn't get to a close when ‌that happens.

"We have put ourselves in good position, but there's still more work to be done," added Carrick, who took charge in January with United in ‌sixth spot after Ruben Amorim's dismissal.

Casemiro was on the scoresheet on Monday ⁠and ⁠while supporters have called on the club to keep him for another year, Carrick said the midfielder's situation was clear.

"From both sides it's pretty clear. Probably the situation and the clarity of it has helped everything," he added.

"It means a lot to him and credit to him because of the situation that it is, he's given absolutely everything as well and had some big moments for us."

United next face fourth-placed Liverpool on Sunday.