MELBOURNE, Australia - Three-time champion Iran, which has the highest current ranking among all the teams competing at the Asian Cup, kicks off its campaign against Bahrain, the second of two Group C matches scheduled Sunday:___IRAN vs. BAHRAIN: Iran is one of the Cup favourites and is expected to advance from an all-West Asia group. The Iranians won the continental title in three consecutive tournaments from 1968 to 1976, but two of those were at home. Team Melli hasnt added another Asian title since.But theres extra confidence in the team heading into this tournament, with Carlos Queiroz staying on as coach after the World Cup and star forward Reza Ghoochannejhad leading the scorers in Asian Cup qualifying. He also scored for Iran at the World Cup in Brazil.We qualified with the best record of all the teams and Iran fans are expecting big things of us, Ghoochannejhad said. We need to go out and do our job and forget about the pressure. Weve been working well for the last year and I hope we can keep on making progress. I have a lot of faith in our coaching staff and Carlos Queiroz. With him by our side, were sure to succeed.Iran had a setback only days before the tournament when versatile fullback Hashem Beikzadeh was ruled out after breaking his hand in practice.Queiroz said the absence of the 30-year-old defender had caused big damage to the team, particularly after fellow defender Pejman Montazeri was ruled out last month.Still, Queiroz is confident Iran will reach the knockout stage despite a lack of practice matches and the disruptions.No excuses, no explanations, no sorry, we are just here to play the game, Queiroz said. And with the team spirit that weve been showing in the other games, we have a good chance.This will be Irans 13th appearance at the Asian Cup, equal with South Korea. The Iranians have scored more goals (112) than any other team in the tournament, and were the only squad to win all three group games at the 2011 edition.Bahrain has lost five of its past seven games at the Asian Cup finals, but comes into the 2015 tournament after conceding just one goal in qualifying.___UNITED ARAB EMIRATES vs. QATAR: The Qataris, who are building toward hosting the 2022 World Cup and are coming off their first Gulf Cup of Nations title in a decade, are expected to trouble the top teams in the tournament.The first match always difficult, and if you win its 70 to 80 per cent for qualification to the second round, Qatar striker Meshal Abdullah said. The UAE is a very good team with a lot of talent, we respect them, but we are not scared of them.Both teams have been knocked out of the Asian Cup at the group stage at each of the past three tournaments.The UAE had a 2-1 win over Qatar when the teams met in the group stage in 2007.The UAE failed to score a goal at Qatar 2011 but tallied 18 — level in top spot with Iran — in five wins and a draw in the qualifying tournament for Australia. UAEs Ali Mabkhout shared the individual scoring honours in the qualifying tournament with Iran forward Ghoochannejhad.Ali Mabkhout was also leading scorer in the recent Gulf Cup of Nations, with five goals. Cheap Air Max 720 Uk . Louis Cardinals are one of Major League Baseballs model franchises. Air Max 720 Uk . -- Manager Bob Melvin shuffled the Athletics batting order and got the type of production he was looking for from the top of the lineup. http://www.airmax720outletuk.com/. DETROIT LIONS AT CHICAGO BEARS, 1:00 PM (ET) Detroit - G Rodney Austin, WR Ryan Broyles, DT Nick Fairley, QB Kellen Moore, DT Caraun Reid, CB Mohammed Seisay, DE Larry Webster Chicago - S Chris Conte, DT Brandon Dunn, QB David Fales, K Robbie Gould, CB Terrance Mitchell, OT Michael Ola, DE Trevor Scott GREEN BAY PACKERS AT TAMPA BAY BUCCANEERS, 1:00 PM (ET) Green Bay - LB Carl Bradford, DT Bruce Gaston, C Garth Gerhart, CB Davon House, WR Jeff Janis, TE Justin Perillo, QB Scott Tolzien Tampa Bay - OT Anthony Collins, CB Isaiah Frey, WR Robert Herron, RB Mike James, WR Solomon Patton, FB/TE Evan Rodriguez, LB Lawrence Sidbury KANSAS CITY CHIEFS AT PITTSBURGH STEELERS, 1:00 PM (ET) Kansas City - WR Donnie Avery, CB Marcus Cooper, OT Laurent Duvernay-Tardif, OL Eric Kush, QB Aaron Murray, RB Charcandrick West, DT Nick Williams Pittsburgh - WR Justin Brown, DE Clifton Geathers, G Chris Hubbard, QB Landry Jones, S Troy Polamalu, TE Matt Spaeth, CB Ike Taylor MINNESOTA VIKINGS AT MIAMI DOLPHINS, 1:00 PM (ET) Minnesota - LB Anthony Barr, OT Carter Bykowski, DB Ahmad Dixon, OT Charlie Johnson, FB Zach Line, CB Shaun Prater, TE Kyle Rudolph Miami - G Nate Garner, WR Matt Hazel, S Don Jones, WR Rishard Matthews, LB Chris McCain, G Dallas Thomas, RB Daniel Thomas NEW ENGLAND PATRIOTS AT NEW YORK JETS, 1:00 PM (ET) New England - CB Kyle Arrington, RB LeGarrette Blount, OL Dan Connolly, CB Alfonzo Dennard, OT Jordan Devey, WR Julian Edelman, RB James White NY Jets - DT T. Air Max 720 Outlet Uk . -- Arizona coach Sean Miller rose from his seat every time Roberto Nelson touched the ball and yelled "Shooter!" He could have been talking about his own team, too. Air Max 720 Cheap Online . Dwyane Wade followed a few days later. MAINZ, Germany -- Germany thrashed Armenia 6-1 in the sides last friendly match before the World Cup but influential midfielder Marco Reus participation in the tournament was left hanging in the balance on Friday. Reus was helped off the pitch before the break after twisting his left ankle while challenging Artur Yedigaryan for the ball. Reus immediately dropped to the grass and appeared in considerable pain. Team doctor Hans-Wilhelm Mueller-Wohlfahrt shook his head as he assisted the Borussia Dortmund player off the pitch. Reus was taken to the hospital to determine the full extent of the injury. "Hes getting checked out now and we have to wait for the diagnosis," Germany coach Joachim Loew said. "I saw it at halftime and you could see it was swollen. I hope its nothing to do with the ligaments. We hope, of course, that hes not out (of the World Cup)." Lukas Podolski, who came on for Reus, put on a man-of-the-match performance by setting up three goals and scoring another. "When he plays like this hes hard to stop," Loew said. Podolski whipped in a cross for Andre Schuerrle to beat Armenia keeper Roman Berezovsky at the near post in the 52nd. Henrikh Mkhitaryan equalized with a penalty in the 69th, when he sent Dortmund teammmate Roman Weidenfeller the wrong way.dddddddddddd Another Dortmund player, Kevin Grosskreutz, conceded the spot kick a minute after coming on as a substitute. Podolski responded with a goal of his own in the 69th after a good assist from Arsenal teammate Mesut Ozil and Benedikt Hoewedes made it 3-1 at the second attempt a minute after that. Podolski then crossed for Miroslav Klose to head his record 69th international goal in the 77th. The veteran striker had shared Germanys goal-scoring record with Gerd Mueller. Podolski set up Mario Goetze for the fifth goal in the 82nd, before Klose laid the ball back for Goetze to claim his second in the 89th. The game, however, was overshadowed by Reus injury. There was better news from Loews perspective on Philipp Lahm and Bastian Schweinsteiger, who returned after recovering from an ankle and knee injury respectively. Lahm played the first half in midfield alongside Sami Khedira, who made way with half an hour remaining for Schweinsteiger. Ozil, who hit the post, answered some of his recent critics with an encouraging performance. "We were fresher after the days off but now we need training in Brazil to get used to the climate," Loew said. The German squad leaves for Brazil on Saturday. ' ' '