On the eve of a new era in Australian football, with Tony Popovic taking the reigns as national team coach, we're joined by Australia's leading football journalist, Vince Rugari of the Sydney Morning Herald. Speaking from Adelaide Oval ahead of the clash with China, we discuss his expectations of the Tony Popovic era, the legacy of Graham Arnold and the overall state of Australian football. Follow Rhysh Roshan Rai on X: https://x.com/VinceRugari  Be sure to follow The Asian Game on all our social media channels: X: https://twitter.com/TheAsianGame IG: https://instagram.com/theasiangame Facebook: https://facebook.com/TheAsianGamePodcast 

There were big results and plenty of goals across Matchday Two of the Shopee Cup, with 27 goals across all six matches. Host Ryan Walters, who was in Kuala Lumpur for their 1-0 win over Borneo, is back with Claro Manzano to look back over all the action and discuss the major talking points. Follow Ryan on X: https://x.com/MrRyanWalters  Follow Claro on X: https://x.com/ClaroManzano  Be sure to follow The Asian Game on all our social media channels: X: https://twitter.com/TheAsianGame IG: https://instagram.com/theasiangame Facebook: https://facebook.com/TheAsianGamePodcast 

Asia's Olympic hopefuls will be decided when the continent's best young talents descend on Qatar in ahead of the AFC U23 Asian Cup. Or will they? We discuss the impact playing the tournament outside of the FIFA international calendar will have on the competition with many big names refused permission to travel by their European clubs. Which nations do we fancy to qualify? Who are the dark horses? And just why was Australian wonderkid Nestory Irankunda not included in the Olyroos squad? PLUS... we look ahead to the semi-finals of the AFC Champions League which will see Al Hilal square off against Al Ain, while Ulsan HD take on Yokohama F.Marinos.  

It's the showpiece event on the Asian football calendar, and finally the AFC Asian Cup final is upon us. Starting from Souq Waqif on the eve of the game, follow Scott McIntyre's journey to Lusail Stadium, from talking to fans desperate for a ticket, to international stars and media alike. Plus, hear all the action from inside Lusail Stadium as Qatar emerged victorious 3-1 to secure an historic title defence.

On the eve of the AFC Asian Cup Final, Scott McIntyre sits down with Australian and Al Wakrah defender Trent Sainsbury. Trent speaks about Qatar's performances at this AFC Asian Cup, his impressions on the tournament as a whole, and what it's like playing under 'Tintin' Marquez. He also speaks openly about his own Socceroos ambitions and planning for his post-playing career.

Iran has produced one of their biggest wins in recent memory with a come-from-behind 2-1 victory over Japan, sealed thanks to a last minute penalty scored by Alireza Jahanbkhsh. They will meet host nation Qatar in the semi-final after they edged past Uzbekistan 3-2 on penalties. Scott McIntyre is LIVE from Souq Waqif with Erfan, Sina and Daniel from Gol Bezan to discuss Iran's memorable victory.

Japan and Iran are the last two teams through to the quarter finals of the AFC Asian Cup quarter finals after two contrasting performances. Japan cruised past Bahrain 3-1, while Iran was made to fight by Syria, eventually prevailing 5-3 on penalties. Former Syrian international Aatef Jenyat joins us from Souq Waqif to review all the action and talk about his own career playing for Al Karamah and the Syrian national team. PLUS... we also hear from Iran's Alireza Jahanbakhsh and Mehdi Taremi, as well as Japan superstar Takefusa Kubo.

Our countdown to the AFC Asian Cup 2023 continues with a look at Group B featuring Australia, Uzbekistan, Syria and India. Former Socceroo, and Indian Super League commentator, Erik Paartalu, joins us to discuss the prospects of both the Socceroos and Blue Tigers. Plus we discuss what we can expect from Syria and Uzbekistan who will both be without their leading striker for this campaign.

Get excited, ladies and gentlemen, the AFC Cup is back for another year. Ryan Walters is back for another episode of The ASEAN Game, and on this episode we dive deep into one of our favourite international tournaments, the AFC Cup. Ryan is joined by Paul Williams, Ivan Gayares, Keesh Sundaresan, Aun Rahman and Rhysh Roshan Rai to run the rule over the ASEAN Zone of this year's competition. In Part 1 we take a look at Group F containing Dynamic Herb Cebu FC (Philippines), Macarthur FC (Australia), Shan United (Myanmar) and Phnom Penh Crown (Cambodia).

As the FIFA Women's World Cup 2023 nears its conclusion ahead of the final between England and Spain on Sunday night, much of the focus will now switch to the legacy this tournament will leave and building on the enormous groundswell of support seen across both Australia and New Zealand. Our very own Alex Bishop, who was in New Zealand following Japan’s fortunes, was lucky enough to be invited to the Manaaki Invitational youth tournament, staged by A-Leagues side Wellington Phoenix and featuring academy teams from the Phoenix, as well as others from Japan and the USA. Alex sat down with Katie Barriott, Women's Football Development Lead at Wellington Phoenix, and Steve Coleman, their Academy Technical Director, to find out more about the tournament and how they'll look to build on the World Cup's success. The Asian Game's coverage of the FIFA Women's World Cup 2023 is proudly sponsored by SMC.  

China has kept alive their hopes of progression trough to the knockout rounds with an important 1-0 win over Haiti at Hindmarsh Stadium. Paul Williams and Michael Church are at Hindmarsh Stadium to analyse the Chinese victory and look ahead to their heavyweight clash with England. Plus, we speak with Indonesian star Zahra Muzdalifah on her move to Cerezo Osaka and the state of women's football in Indonesia. The Asian Game's coverage of the FIFA Women's World Cup 2023 is proudly sponsored by SMC.  

Chinese international Zhao Yujie, who was part of China's extended squad for the FIFA Women's World Cup 2023, spoke to The Asian Game Podcast from her home in Shanghai to look at China's campaign at this Women's World Cup. The 24-year-old also detailed why she decided to go through the US College system and her experience at Florida State and looked ahead to what her future holds. The Asian Game's coverage of the FIFA Women's World Cup 2023 is proudly sponsored by SMC.

On Day 3 of our coverage of this year's FIFA Women's World Cup 2023 we are coming to you LIVE from Adelaide's Victoria Square / Tarntanyangga. Coming to you LIVE from Adelaide's Victoria Square / Tarntanyangga, we are joined by leading football executive James Kitching from The FC Sports to discuss the start of the FIFA Women's World Cup 2023 and how Australia and Asia can capitalise on its success. We also hear from Vietnamese journalist Hoang Tri Cong from Eden Park after Vietnam's impressive showing against the USA, and Alex Bishop is in Hamilton to provide a report after Japan's thumping 5-0 win over Zambia. The Asian Game's coverage of the FIFA Women's World Cup 2023 is proudly sponsored by SMC.

Paul is joined by Michael and Martin to discuss the latest happenings in the world of Asian football, including the start of the FIFA U20 World Cup, Australia's friendly with Argentina in Beijing and Al Ittihad closing in on the Saudi Pro League title. We also speak with Emirati sensation Yahya Al-Ghassani after he helped Shabab Al Ahli break their title drought in the UAE, plus Celtic's Chinese duo Shen Menglu and Shen Mengyu join us to talk about life in Scotland and their hopes for this year's FIFA Women's World Cup.

For the third time in their history, Urawa Red Diamonds are champions of Asia after a 2-1 aggregate victory of Saudi Arabia's Al Hilal. Follow Scott's journey from Tokyo to Saitama for the final where he is joined along the way by Michael Church and Sean Carroll. We also hear from a confident Al Hilal fan pre-game and get all the reaction from the jubilant Urawa players post game with Marius Hoibraten and Alexander Scholz.

Just days out from this year's enormous AFC Champions League Final between Al Hilal and Urawa Reds, Alexander Scholz joined us on The Asian Game Podcast to preview this year's final. The Urawa defender speaks about his side's form going in, the turnaround under coach Maciej Skorza and why the ACL means so much to the club.

Regular guests Wael Jabir and Gabe Tan join us on the pod this week as we discuss all the major issues and topics in Asian football. We discuss in-depth the decision from FIFA to strip Indonesia of the FIFA U20 World Cup with Indonesian journalist Firzie Idris, while we also explore Herve Renard's decision to leave Saudi Arabia. Plus we speak with Iraqi international Osama Rashid about his recall to the national team after an almost four year hiatus.

Martin Lowe joins us again this week as we look back on the AFC U20 Asian Cup and Uzbekistan, and discuss Russia's involvement in helping get the CAFA Cup off the ground and what it might mean for the AFC. We also speak with Fouad El Fdil, a former coach and scout at Aspire Academy and Sporting Director at Al Gharafa, about the continued failings of Qatari football. Plus we speak with Al Ansar midfielder Yahya El-Hindi about the riotous scenes from Lebanon that decided the title on the final day.

Scott and Ryan continue to travel around Southeast Asia, this time finding themselves in Bangkok and Hanoi respectively as they gear up for the huge AFF Mitsubishi Electric Cup Final between powerhouse sides Thailand and Vietnam. Can Thailand's power in attack overwhelm Vietnam, or will the Golden Stars' resolute defence - that is yet to concede a goal this tournament - stand tall again? We answer that plus much more.

It's a bumper show this week as we discuss the issues surrounding China's withdrawal as host of the 2023 AFC Asian Cup and who might replace them. We also debate whether Son Heung-min can now be regarded as Asia's best ever player, and we hear from Incheon United's Stefan Mugosa and Australian goalkeeper Tando Velaphi.