Although the AFCON made headlines all over the world for an unforgettable group stage, the Asian Cup was not to be outdone, as it also had its fair share of drama. There were some major upsets in Qatar too, and although none of the favourites crashed out of the group stage, a fair few sides earned a knockout spot for the first time ever.
By Neel Shelat
Group A: China crash out, debutantes Tajikistan shine
Just a few years ago, Chinese President Xi Jinping announced his ambition of making China a ‘soccer superpower’ by 2050. That project might already be considered a failure, as they crashed out of their Asian Cup group without scoring a single goal. There are a lot of factors behind this disastrous result, but a big one has to be the downfall of the Chinese Super League after its COVID-induced financial crisis.
This edition of the Asian Cup had just one debutant, Tajikistan, who made sure of capitalising on such a golden opportunity. They booked an immediate knockout berth by finishing second thanks to a matchday 3 turnaround against Lebanon. Signs of encouragement were there right from the opener against China, which they drew but could easily have won. A one-goal defeat to Qatar was not a result to be ashamed of at all, so they should not be taken lightly in the knockouts.
For all their pre-tournament instability, Qatar absolutely turned up at this Asian Cup. They dispelled the demons of the disastrous World Cup with a perfect group campaign this time, winning all three games without conceding a single goal. Tintín Márquez deserves a lot of credit for coming in and instantly putting together a cohesive system, which hinges on the playmaking quality of Akram Afif.
Lebanon were never among the favourites to progress, but they should be a little disappointed to watch Tajikistan advance ahead of them. They were outclassed by the hosts on the opening day, and although they put in two spirited displays thereafter, they just could not get the job done.
Group B: Syria sneak into the knockouts
The big story in Group B was Syria’s success, as they qualified for the Asian Cup knockouts for the first time ever. They started off with a resolute defensive display to pick up a point against Uzbekistan, before only going down by a goal against Australia. That set them up for a decider against India, which they won thanks to substitute Omar Khribin’s 76th-minute strike.
Australia were the clear favourites in this group, and they got through it quite comfortably. However, they were rather unconvincing as Graham Arnold attempted to implement a possession-dominant style against more defensive opponents but made some inappropriate selection decisions, leading to the team often looking stuck in the final third. Their defending was very solid, though, so Mathew Ryan is among the least busy goalkeepers in the tournament.
Uzbekistan were not as good as expected either, as the absence of veteran striker Eldor Shomurodov seemed to impair their attacking play. They did manage to put three past India though and more than held their own against Australia, so they could yet be dark horses in the knockouts.
As expected, India bowed out without causing much of a stir. There were some encouraging elements in all of their performances – they defended well against Australia to keep it goalless at half-time, showed some flashes of attacking threat against Uzbekistan and gave Syria a real run for their money – but they failed to string everything together and left pointless and goalless.
Group C: Palestine make history
Palestine were almost universally supported by fans at the Asian Cup, by local Qatari supporters as well as the travelling contingent from nearby nations as all showed their solidarity amidst the war on Gaza. Football can hardly be thought of as a priority for them, but they looked to be in for a tough tournament when Iran put four past them on Matchday 1.
The players showed incredible resilience and determination to fight back thereafter, earning a thoroughly deserved point against the UAE before beating Hong Kong on the final day to secure a knockout berth for the first time in the nation’s history.
After that fantastic opening performance, Iran seemed to take a bit of a step back as they only just got the better of Hong Kong and the UAE, but a perfect record of three wins in three games is not to be sniffed at. They should really back themselves to go all the way in the knockouts.
The United Arab Emirates were slightly disappointing too. A 3-1 win in the opener against Hong Kong got them off to a good start, but their performance was far from convincing. The subsequent results reflected that, as they very much held on for a draw against Palestine before losing to Iran. They will not be entering the knockouts in the best of form.
Hong Kong performed significantly better than their FIFA ranking of #150 might lead one to expect, as they took their games to all three opponents with a troublesome press above all. They leave Qatar without having picked up a point, but that hardly tells the story of how well they performed.
Group D: Iraq steal Japan’s thunder
Japan were almost unanimously considered the pre-tournament favourites going into the tournament, but they had a much tougher time than anticipated in the group. They survived a big scare against Vietnam in the opener with a 4-2 win, but then suffered a first defeat in over ten matches against Iraq. The Samurai Blue did seal second spot by beating Indonesia, but they failed to keep a single clean sheet in their three matches.
Iraq, then, were the stars of Group D. Their youthful attack including the likes of ex-Manchester United youngster Zidane Iqbal and locally-based starlet Ali Jassim looked very dangerous in all of their matches, but it was 27-year-old striker Ayman Hussein who dealt most of the damage in terms of goals. It is far too early to talk of a repeat of their 2007 triumph, but they certainly have the potential to tear through any defence.
Indonesia lost both of their matches against the top two with a 3-1 scoreline, but they were rewarded for their positive intent with a one-goal win over Vietnam. Thanks to other favourable results, that just about proved enough for them to advance to the knockouts for the first time in their history.
Vietnam should be disappointed to leave without a point, but they should go to the airport with their heads held high as they gave Japan a real scare by taking a lead in that game and only lost the other two by a slender margin.
Group E: South Korea stutter, Bahrain bounce back
Like their near neighbours and fierce rivals, South Korea also had a tougher time in their group than expected. They started by beating Bahrain 3-1 in a match where they got a warning shot in the shape of a conceding an equaliser, which they only really overcame thanks to the individual brilliance of Lee Kang-in. The Taeguk Warriors failed to win both of their remaining matches, needing a stoppage-time equaliser against Jordan and conceding one past the 100-minute mark against Malaysia. They do not look in the strongest of shape going into the knockouts.
Jordan might have finished third, but they were arguably the most impressive team in the group. They started with a 4-0 thrashing of Malaysia, before giving South Korea a real scare in a match they could easily have won. As we predicted, the brilliance of Musa Al-Taamari made the difference for them in the final third, so it was no surprise to see a heavily-rotated side struggle against Bahrain without him. Losing first place in the group is not a terrible result at all, though, as it means they have avoided Japan in the Round of 16.
Bahrain did a fantastic job of bouncing back from the loss to South Korea in their opener, as they registered two solid 1-0 wins to ultimately shoot up to the top of the group. That does not give them the most favourable of draws as aforementioned, but they will go into the Round of 16 very high on confidence.
Malaysia recovered well from their terrible start against Jordan as Kim Pan-gon rectified many of his mistakes, such as fielding Arif Aiman at right wing-back. They failed to get anything against Bahrain nevertheless but their performance was much improved, so the eventual point they earned in dramatic fashion against South Korea has to be thoroughly deserved.
Group F: Saudi Arabia look unconvincing
Saudi Arabia, like most of the big-hitters, did not look overly convincing in their group. They also had some pre-tournament turbulence as some senior players were left out of Roberto Manicini’s squad, but their problem on the pitch proved to be a lack of intensity. A dramatic late turnaround got them past Oman, they seemed very content with a small win against the nine men of Kyrgyzstan and then failed to get the better of Thailand. If they continue to perform at such a level, they are sure to disappoint in the knockouts.
Thailand exceeded expectations the most in this group as they beat Kyrgyzstan 2-0 to start the tournament and then held down second place with two goalless draws. Their solid defensive record, combined with some individual quality up front, could have the potential to trouble some stronger teams in the knockouts.
Oman and Kyrgyzstan showed good defensive resolution in their first two matches to stay in contention on the final day, but then they rather ended up tripping over each other. A win might have placed either as one of the best third-placed teams that make the knockouts, but they drew 1-1 and let Indonesia sneak by instead.
Looking ahead: Round of 16
Owing to the favourites’ underwhelming performances, the knockout bracket looks nothing like what everyone was expecting pre-tournament.
Two heavyweights are already colliding in Saudi Arabia vs South Korea, while some of the underdogs have a golden opportunity to reach the quarter-finals in ties such as Iraq vs Jordan and Uzbekistan vs Thailand. Perhaps the biggest of the lot, though, is Qatar vs Palestine, which is a match that is sure to have a much wider impact than just on the pitch.
(Images from IMAGO)
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