Asian Cup: Goal in 14 seconds as UAE, Iran progress

Melbourne Ali Mabkhout scored the Asian Cups fastest recorded goal after just 14 seconds on Thursday as the UAE reached the quarterfinals alongside threetime winners IranMabkhout pounced just moments after the kickoff against Bahrain in the quickest strike recorded in the events 61year history to set his team on the way to a 21 win And Irans esteemed coach Carlos Queiroz was left purring at Sardar Azmouns brilliant winner in the 10 victory over Qatar comparing him to the best strikers he has worked withBut beleaguered Jordan boss Ray Wilkins sought solace in his mothers love on a chaotic day off the pitch marked by fresh recriminations over a bungled dope test which robbed the Englishman of a key playerHighflying Australia still missing captain Mile Jedinak through injury suffered another setback with the news that Aston Villa defender Chris Herd is out of the tournament with an Achilles problem UAE grabbed the headlines however with striker Mabkhout sparking his side to a victory over Bahrain which kept them on top of Group C on goal differenceIt was his third goal of the Asian Cup after netting a brace in the 41 victory over Gulf Cup champions Qatar at the weekend making him the competitions top scorer However UAE needed an own goal from Bahrain captain Mohamed Hasan to take the points Not at their best Iran did enough to scrape past Qatar 10 to also make it two wins out of two Azmoun striking seven minutes into the second half with a likely contender for goal of the tournamentIt was a brilliant goal gushed Iran coach Carlos Queiroz charged with ending a 39year title drought It was a special movement of the centreforward a great turn at the level of some of the best centreforwards I have worked with in my life Praise indeed from the former Real Madrid and Portugal boss who has worked with some of the games greats including world footballer of the year Cristiano Ronaldo Azmoun produced a magical turn and finish to seal the three points but Irans stuttering display sparked an angry reaction from Queiroz in the second half the Portuguese hurling a water bottle to the ground in disgust at his teams inability to retain possession Cashing out Qatar who won the Gulf Cup last November will be playing for pride in their final game something of an embarrassment after winning the right to host the 2022 World CupAt this level you pay cash for any kind of mistakes said Qatar coach Djamel Belmadi Thats what happened today I hope they learn from it Wilkins had a busy day in Melbourne initially locked out of his own press conference after forgetting his accreditation and then blasting Asian Cup organisers for a botched doping test which made striker Ahmad Hayel sick potentially ending his tournamentThe important thing is to put football into perspective Wilkins told reporters People are far more important than a game of football We may lose Ahmad for two games Weve lost a very important player The Jordanian FA has lodged a formal protest to the Asian Football Confederation claiming the player began vomiting after being forced to drink water to help him give a urine sample after a 10 defeat by Iraq earlier this weekWilkins confirmed Hayel will miss Fridays game against Palestine in Melbourne and possibly their final Group D clash with Japan although the forward told AFP I will play against Japan even if it kills me I am so sad about what happened because the Jordan fans rely on me As Wilkins fielded questions about his future after Jordans woeful run of form the former Queens Park Rangers and Fulham manager took a philosophical viewIf you dont win you get the sack he said before being escorted from the building by overzealous security guards while a team official was dispatched to pick up his name tag Thats life Im still alive my family love me my mum thinks Im gorgeous