The second spherical of Asian Cup group matches yielded surprises, as pre-tournament favorites got a actuality examine.
Physical Arab groups confirmed a big narrowing of the hole towards their extra famend opponents.
Japan, four-time champions and the highest-ranked workforce within the competitors, suffered an upset with a 2-1 loss to Iraq.
South Korea additionally confronted a detailed name towards Jordan, narrowly avoiding a loss when an injury-time personal aim spared their blushes.
Iraq executed a transparent technique to unsettle Japan, which struggled with the physicality of their West Asian counterparts in a febrile environment.
The largely Iraqi crowd made it really feel like a house sport for the Lions of Mesopotamia.
Iraq might have probably scored extra if not for an harm to their striker Aymen Hussein, who scored each targets earlier than the break however didn’t come out for the second half.
Additionally, Iraq proved efficient with out the ball, disrupting Japan’s possession sport with a number of tackles and resorting to tactical fouls to upset their rhythm.
“We analyzed earlier than the sport and knew how Iraq would play firstly. They performed very aggressively.
Unfortunately, we could not deal with it. I do know we have to do extra,” mentioned Japan coach Hajime Moriyasu.
Iraq coach Jesus Casas grew to become a nationwide hero after their first victory over Japan in 42 years.
The Spaniard expressed delight within the gamers he chosen for the match, stating, “Since I took charge, I choose players that can be fighters but good players too. The difference at this level is you need a balance between fighting and quality,” Casas mentioned.
Disciplined Jordan
Similarly, South Korea confronted frustration towards a tactically disciplined Jordan in a 2-2 draw. Juergen Klinsmann’s South Korea facet didn’t rating from open play, netting one from the penalty spot and an personal aim in added time.
Jordan proved compact in midfield and protection, with their ahead line making life depressing for the South Koreans, continually harrying them into making fast selections and forcing turnovers.
“What they did really well was they overpowered us physically in the one-v-one battles. There’s an old saying in football that you have to win your one-v-one battles,” Klinsmann mentioned.
“Jordan fought for each single ball as a unit, as a workforce. Different types clashed there. Every sport we play towards Jordan, towards Bahrain, we study. We want to search out options.
“I’m very pleased to see the reaction after we went 2-1 down. We won the last seven games and you lose the feeling of going a goal down. The team had to swallow the fact that Jordan were 2-1 up and had to react.”
They can damage you
South Korea skipper Son Heung-min, who performs within the Premier League for Tottenham Hotspur, isn’t any stranger to physicality. However, he mentioned it was one other instance of how groups can damage them, having been on the receiving finish of crunching tackles towards Bahrain as effectively.
“In the Asian Cup, there’s never an easy game. If you’re not ready mentally and physically, they can hurt you,” Son mentioned.
“As a player, as a team, we learned something from this game. Luckily, it happened in the group stage.”
Jordan coach Hussein Ammouta mentioned “Arab teams playing on Arab turf” in Qatar should take the struggle to their opponents.
“What’s certain is that every national team must believe in their capabilities and should not go into a game insecure because of technical deficiencies. We went into the game with a positive attitude,” the Moroccan mentioned.
Source: www.dailysabah.com