The clash between Japan and Iran is the key match of the quarter-finals of the 2023 Asian Cup. This is a very attractive and dramatic match. The "Samurai Blue" is currently ranked 1st in Asia and 17th in the world . Meanwhile, Iran is right behind Japan, ranked 2nd in Asia and 21st in the world . The two teams have won the Asian Cup a total of 7 times, of which the Japanese team holds the record with 4 times.
In the group stage, coach Hajime Moriyasu’s team did not perform convincingly, only qualifying for the next round as second place in Group D. In the round of 16, the “blue samurai” only faced a weak opponent, Bahrain, and did not have much difficulty winning. However, in the quarter-finals, Iran is considered a big challenge for the mettle of the cherry blossom country team. A victory over Iran will be an affirmation of the true class of the Japanese team.
Mitoma (right) is expected to shine in the quarter-finals.
On the other hand, Iran was also assessed as not playing at their full potential in the past stage. The West Asian team won all the matches in the group stage because they were in an easy group. However, in the more tense round of 16, Iran showed their limitations and only drew 1-1 with the lower-rated Syria after more than 120 minutes of play. Fortunately, Iran woke up in time in the nerve-wracking penalty shootout to win the ticket to the next round.
In terms of squad, Iran lost their main striker Taremi (due to a red card in the round of 16). Meanwhile, the Japanese team is even stronger, as star Kaoru Mitoma has returned from injury. In the round of 16 match, Mitoma came off the bench and played well. Therefore, the player currently playing in the Premier League promises to shine to help the "Blue Samurai" reach the semi-finals.
The final match of the 2023 Asian Cup quarter-finals is the match between Qatar and Uzbekistan, taking place at 22:30.
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