With the confirmation of the quarterfinals at the 2023 Qatar Asian Cup, the competition for the championship has started in earnest. Korea, Australia, Japan and Iran, which were considered strong contenders for the championship, are expected to have a showdown in the quarterfinals. Two of the top four teams in the FIFA rankings -- Japan 17th, Iran 21st, Korea 23rd, and Australia 25th -- will not be able to advance to the semifinals.
After the round of 16 match between Iran and Syria on the morning of the 1st, all 16 countries to challenge the Asian Cup have been decided.
The quarterfinals will begin with a showdown between Tajikistan and Jordan at 8:30 p.m. on Tuesday. Despite playing in the Asian Cup for the first time, Tajikistan advanced to the quarterfinals by beating the UAE, which is led by former Korean national team coach Paulo Bento, after a penalty shootout. Jordan also advanced to the quarterfinals by winning 3-2 after a loud match with Iraq in the round of 16.
It is the first time for both teams to advance to the semifinals. The winning team will meet the winner of the match against Korea and Australia in the semifinals.
The second batter is the Korean national soccer team led by Jürgen Klinsmann and Australia, one of the strongest candidates for this year's event. Klinsmann confirmed his advance to the quarterfinals after a breathless 132-minute battle with Saudi Arabia on April 31. Korea's frontline striker Cho Kyu-sung Mit Whelan who scored the equalizer with one minute left before the end of extra time in the second half played a significant role.
Australia also confirmed its advance to the quarterfinals early on after defeating Indonesia last month. The Australian national team, nicknamed "sakeru" sarker + kangaroo, is one of the strongest teams in this year's event by showing off its "swamp soccer" performance. Korea is a tough opponent not only because each player has good physique but also excellent teamwork.
The third showdown is between Korea's standard, adversaries and difficulties, and Japan and Iran's duel. They will play at 8:30 p.m. on Saturday. It was right after Korea's advance to the semifinals was determined.
Japan, which holds the record of winning the most championships four times, is seeking its first championship in 13 years since the 2011 championships. Japan, which deployed a large number of European players to its national team, easily advanced to the quarterfinals by beating Bahrain 3-1. On the other hand, Iran managed to secure its win after a fierce battle until the penalty shootout with Syria on Sunday morning. In the second half of the match, its main striker Medi Taremi was sent off due to accumulation of warnings, putting it in a numerical inferiority. The fact that Taremi, who scored the first goal on the day, is not able to play in the match against Japan is expected to pose a serious negative factor to Iran.
The quarterfinals will be a showdown between host Qatar and Uzbekistan. Qatar, the defending champion, has maintained its host country's pride by continuing a four-game winning streak from the group league to the round of 16. In the round of 16, Qatar came from behind to beat the Palestinians by 2-1.
Uzbekistan advanced to the quarterfinals by beating Thailand, the only Southeast Asian country that advanced to the round of 16, 2-1 on April 30. It is the first time in nine years that Uzbekistan has advanced to the quarterfinals since the 2015 Australia Championship. If Uzbekistan advances to the semifinals, it will face a match between Iran and Japan. 메이저사이트