Articles by Martin Lowe

About Martin Lowe

Martin Lowe is a freelance football writer who has been covering Asian football for the best part of the last decade. He appeared on Al Jazeera English television and Football Nation Radio during the 2019 AFC Asian Cup, whilst writing for Sandals for Goalposts and other Asian football focused platforms. He has been a senior contributor to The Asian Game website since our launch in 2019.

Tajikistan’s fairytale continues amid off-field heartbreak

January 29, 2024 Martin Lowe

A week ago, Tajikistan had never scored an AFC Asian Cup goal, let alone won a match. However, this Friday, they’ll contest to become Asian Cup semi-finalists in what is becoming quite an unbelievable tournament […]

Were Kyrgyzstan the Asian Cup’s ‘worst team’?

January 26, 2024 Martin Lowe

After two weeks of relentless international competition, the AFC Asian Cup 2023 has reached its knockout phase. Unlike five years ago, however, Kyrgyzstan will not feature as one of the last 16, after a 1-1 […]

Uzbekistan’s return to form timely ahead of Australia clash

January 19, 2024 Martin Lowe

Uzbekistan’s comfortable 3-0 victory over India on Thursday may not been too surprising for most in Al Rayyan’s Ahmad bin Ali Stadium, but it came as an emphatic welcome to the tournament for the White […]

CAFA Nations Cup is run and won – what did we learn?

June 22, 2023 Martin Lowe

In its inaugural senior tournament, Iran triumphed over hosts Uzbekistan to lift the CAFA Nations Cup to become Central Asia’s very first champion in the federation’s brief eight-year history. While the name on the trophy […]

Mixed objectives as Asia’s best return to the international stage

June 12, 2023 Martin Lowe

Away from the transfer whirlwind that’s starting to spin in Saudi Arabia, attention across Asia will focus on international football this week as the very best in Asia bed down their preparations in the run […]

A mixed bag for Asia at U20 World Cup

June 11, 2023 Martin Lowe

For a third FIFA U20 World Cup in a row, South Korea has led the Asian charge in youth football. While they couldn’t replicate their run to the final from 2019, their safe passage through […]

Asia’s best ready to shine bright on global stage

May 19, 2023 Martin Lowe

Less than six months since Asia delivered their most successful senior World Cup, the upcoming Under-20 World Cup represents another chance to determine the continent’s place amongst the very best on the global stage. Hand-in-hand […]

AFC Asian Cup Draw: who’s hot and who’s not (Part II)

May 11, 2023 Martin Lowe

The path to the upcoming AFC Asian Cup 2023 has been far from a smooth one, but after riding the waves of a global pandemic, team withdrawals and a late hosting switch, Thursday’s group stage […]

AFC Asian Cup Draw: who’s hot and who’s not

May 10, 2023 Martin Lowe

The path to the upcoming AFC Asian Cup 2023 has been far from a smooth one, but after riding the waves of a global pandemic, team withdrawals and a late hosting switch, Thursday’s group stage […]

Al Hilal out to continue dominance of Asia

April 24, 2023 Martin Lowe

Following a quite surreal competition that has stretched more than 12 months in its entirety, played extensively in sparsely attended neutral venues, the 2022 edition of the AFC Champions League will finally conclude in rather […]