Alhaji Righteous De Ambitious: World Cup 2010 Blog: Asian Cup Group Stage Preview

Friday, January 7, 2011

World Cup 2010 Blog: Asian Cup Group Stage Preview

Posted: 06 Jan 2011 10:10 AM PST

Khalifah

The Asian Cup kicks off tomorrow with hosts Qatar enjoying a run about with Uzbekistan in that lovely stadium just above.

Since most of us (guilty)will be going in a little bit blind, with a little bit of research and a good bit of guessing, we’ve compiled some games, teams and players to watch from each of the groups.

Groups

A: China, Kuwait, Qatar, Uzbekistan
B: Japan, Jordan, Saudi Arabia, Syria
C: Australia, Bahrain, India, South Korea
D: Iran, Iraq, North Korea, United Arab Emirates

The entire list of Asian Cup fixtures.

Things To Watch

Group A

Game: China v Qatar (Jan. 12)

A game of the future? Perhaps the too distant future, but it’s an intriguing battle nonetheless. Arguably the game of the group on paper – Qatar v Uzbekistan – is the opener.

Team: Qatar, quite easily. The last two times they hosted, they won the tournament. A rather decent recipe for success.

Player: Khalfan Ibrahim, Qatar. Asian Player of the Year title in his pocket when he was 18. Now 22 and back from injuries, he’s one of the continent’s stars.

Group B

Game: Saudi Arabia v Japan (Jan. 17th)

Easily the two giants of the group and two of the favorites to make a significant dent in the later stages.

Team: Japan. Enormous progress was made during the World Cup, a stunning turnabout from expectations, really, now being forced to evolve with a new coach.

Player: Keisuke Honda, Japan. Because…well, come on. The man’s just fun to watch.

Group C

Game: Australia v South Korea (Jan. 14th)

A match to rival that of Saudi Arabia v Japan for similar reasons. Match 1b of the groups, it could be said, if not 1a.

Team: Bahrain. They’re just below the notches of Australia and South Korea, but with a win against India and a mild upset in one of the other two games, they could easily sneak through the group.

Player: Son Heung-Min, South Korea. Uncapped before his selection, at 18 he’s already playing a role for HSV in the Bundesliga and is one of Asia’s brightest young stars.

Plus it’s pre-tournament law that “players to watch” must include talented but raw youngsters who are likely to garner more hype than playing time.

Group D

Game: Iraq v Iran (Jan. 11th)

Just because. (Iraq is defending champion, too…)

Team: North Korea. Which team will show: the one which nearly held Brazil, or the one which rolled over for Portugal?

Player: Nashat Akram, Iraq. Another former Asian Player of the Year, and one of the stars of the Cinderella run in 2010. Made the big move to Europe with Twente last year, but fizzled and landed back in Asia this year.