Who are the favorites to qualify for the Asian Cup?

The finals of the Asian Cup will start Saturday in the United Arab Emirates. These are the favorites to win the title.

Australia

Sucrose won her first Asian title in 2015 by beating South Korea in Sydney. The Australian team played in the Oceania Confederation, but joined the AFC in 2006 and has not missed since then at the World Cup.

But in recent years, Australian Avel has qualified for the 2018 Russia World Cup. He came out in the first round without a win and scored only two goals in three games.

The new coach, Graham Arnold, feels the emptiness left by top scorer Tim Kehill and understands his need for a top scorer to increase the chances of keeping the Asian Cup sucrose.

Iran

Iran occupies the best Asian position in the FIFA World Ranking. He proved himself at the last World Cup in Russia, bowing 0-0 to Spain and scoring a goal against Portugal's Cristiano Ronaldo after beating Morocco 1-0.

But the ambition of the Iranian team in the United Arab Emirates does not stop to admire, but will try to win the Asian Cup, which has eluded him since 1976. Former Real Madrid coach Carlos Quirros has managed to prepare a consistent group of players, allowing Iran to finish the World Cup qualifiers. Without a loss, easily qualify for the finals of the Asian Cup.

In the previous round, the Iranian team was eliminated by penalties against Iraq in the quarterfinals and the two teams would meet again this time in Group D on 16 January.

Japan

The Japanese are playing this tournament while they are looking to win the fifth Asian title. The Blue Samurai have not been defeated five times in a row since new coach Hajimi Moribado took over from Akira Nishonu, who led Japan to the second round of the World Cup in Russia.

Japanese coach Red Bull Salzburg, Tacomi Minamino, the game maker in the absence of Shinji Kagawa, Southampton defender Maya Yoshida and Galatasaray player Yoto Nagatomo will lead Japan to the Cup of Nations. Asia.

Japan is the second Asian country after Iran, and FIFA's world ranking is fifty. Any result in the Asian Cup semi-finals will be a failure for the fans.

Saudi Arabia

The Saudi team is looking to regain the glory of the '90s when it was among the best Asian balls. He won the Cup in 1984, 1988 and 1996 and lost the finals in 2000 and 2007. Saudi Arabia suffered a disappointing defeat at the 2018 World Cup in Russia, bowing 5-0 face the host country at the opening match. The bad results followed.

The UAE national team is led by Juan Antonio Pietzi, the team's fourth coach since 2015. The first match against North Korea will be under intense pressure as his team has only won Only once in six games since the World Cup.

South Korea

South Korea has the best Asian player of the moment, Tottenham striker, Sun Hyung Min, who can lead his country to the Asian Cup in the United Arab Emirates.

South Korea showed its potential and the skills of its players when they surprised Germany, world champion, and beat it in the 2018 final. They almost won the Cup of Asia 2015 against Australia.

Sun will be out for the first two games against the Philippines and Kyrgyzstan because of his ties to Tottenham in the Premier League. The team does not lack the technical skills of Newcastle Song Young and goaltender Joe Hyun Woo, who won the 2-0 win against Germany. South Korea must have qualified for the second round, before Tottenham's top scorer in the Asian adventure.

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