Favorites in their group Iraq and Japan will faceoff in the Asia Cup on Thursday. In the opening match, the Lions of Mesopotamia defeated Indonesia 3-1. The four-time champions were able to defeat Vietnam 4-2 despite their persistent defense.
Previews (Iraq vs. Japan)
Iraq had another successful start to the Asian Cup. They won their first group match for the third time in a row. This team responded effectively to an equalizer from Indonesia by scoring a late goal in first-half stoppage time to flip the tide in their favor. It was also its first victory of the year. Iraq has scored three goals or more in three of its previous four Asian Cup group matches. They are playing at their most aggressive level in this tournament’s group stage. Since the beginning of September, Jesus Casas has only witnessed his team suffer one loss in regular time. It was a 1-0 loss against South Korea earlier this year.
Iraq has only failed to go past the Asian Cup knockout round once in its history. They placed last in their group in 1972. If they win on Friday, they have a decent chance of qualifying for this tournament’s knockout stage. This would also give them the advantage of finishing first in their group. The country hasn’t done since the 2007 Asian Cup. Japan’s first-half performance was underwhelming for forty-five minutes. A late burst of goals at the end of the half gave them confidence going into halftime. Four years prior, the Japanese found themselves in a similar situation when they trailed their first Asian Cup group match in 2019 before exploding for three goals in the second half.
After a challenging first half against Vietnam, Hajime Moriyasu witnessed a much more composed group of players in the second half. They dominated the game’s last 45 minutes and extended their winning streak to 11 games across all competitions. They have been brilliant offensively throughout that stretch, scoring four goals or more ten times, with a total of twenty goals in their previous four games.
Team News
Only one new player was included in the Iraq starting eleven against Indonesia, who had not yet started their friendly match against South Korea. Zidane Iqbal replaced Montader Madjed. Ali Adnan is currently just eight caps short of 100, while Amir Al-Ammari reached 25 caps for the senior team on Sunday. Ibrahim Bayesh can reach 50 if he plays in their next two games. In their first game, Mohanad Ali scored his 19th goal for Iraq on the international scene, tying Husham Mohammed for 10th place all-time and one goal behind Hawar Mulla Mohammed for ninth. Osama Rashid and Aymen Hussein also scored.
Due to an ankle injury, Brighton & Hove Albion midfielder Kaoru Mitoma was unable to play in Japan’s opening game; however, Moriyasu anticipates that Mitoma will be available at some point during the group stage. With his 25th cap on Sunday, Shogo Taniguchi is halfway to 50 appearances, Takehiro Tomiyasu is three away from 40, while Zion Suzuki made only his fifth appearance in goal. Takuma Asano missed their opening game and is still two caps short of 50.
Over the weekend, Takumi Minamino, who plays for Monaco, scored two goals in the first half to give Japan the momentum back. Keito Nakamura added his fifth goal for his country, and Ayase Ueda completed the scoring with his eighth. Minamino now has 20 goals for the Samurai Blue.
Iraq 1-3 Japan
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