The road will be difficult for the four teams to win the Asian Cup title (Getty)
4 teams, including two Arabs, reached the gold square in the Asian Cup with different ambitions: Qatar to maintain its title, Iran to regain its continental prestige, Jordan to write a fairy tale, and South Korea to prove its continental superiority.
The majority in the semi-finals of the 2023 edition, which concludes in Qatar next Saturday, was for the West Asian teams, of which 3 were nominated: Qatar, Jordan and Iran, and only South Korea was from the east of the continent.
We start with the defending champion, the host and the fans. Al-Annabi’s road was paved with goals and clean sheets in the first group, as it achieved 3 consecutive victories without conceding any goals, defeating Lebanon by three goals and both Tajikistan and China with a clean goal.
To pass with full marks to the final 16 and face the Palestinian team, and in this match he conceded the first goal in the tournament, but he succeeded in turning the tables on “Al-Fedayi” after being 1-0 behind, to win the match 2-1, in a confrontation that was balanced between the two teams with an advantage. Relative to the Palestinian team, but Al-Annabi, with the experience of the champion, knew how to overcome this bump.
Summary of the match between Qatar and Uzbekistan | Qatar qualifies for the semi-finals of the Asian Cup Qatar 2023#AsiaCup | #AsiaCup2023 | #Qatar_Uzbekistan #AsianCup2023 pic.twitter.com/Bpy8Wxi7mb
— beIN SPORTS (@beINSPORTS) February 3, 2024
In the quarter-finals, the match was against Uzbekistan, which was considered the strongest test for the Qatar national team in its career in the current tournament, and it was indeed a strong test, as “Al-Anabi” advanced with friendly fire in the first half, and the Uzbek national team returned in the second half, and the numbers indicate that Uzbekistan had the most attempts to defeat... Goal As for possession of the ball, it was diagonal.
Al-Anabi was able to manage the match and absorb the enthusiasm of the Uzbek national team in regular and extra time and excel in the penalty shootout thanks to the brilliance of Al-Anabi goalkeeper Mishal Barshim, who saved 3 penalty kicks and achieved his 12th victory in the tournament, as he did not lose in two consecutive editions and scored only 3 goals against him in 13 matches. He fought it in both versions.
The Qatari national team hopes to capitalize on the high morale that the national team gained after the exciting, difficult and dramatic victory over the Uzbek national team, in the face of Iran, which is also ecstatic with its exhausting victory over the Japanese national team in a fatal time 2-1.
It seems that Spaniard Marquez Lopez has finally begun to settle on his starting lineup and the playing system he will adopt in the tournament.
This coach, who took over the helm of coaching Al-Anabi only a month before the start of the tournament, modified his basic formations in which he played the tournament more than once, and also relied on 4 tactical schemes in the tournament, which he started with 4-4-2, then 4-3-3, and then 4-5- 1 To settle in the last two matches against Palestine and Uzbekistan on a balanced plan between defense and attack, with the midfield strengthened and the full-backs transformed into wingers and vice versa, which is 3-5-2.
It seems that Lopez is adopting the same plan against Iran, with strengthening the defense line and asking the full-backs to commit more to defensive duties, against an Iranian team packed with stars and playing in the best European leagues, not to mention the physical strength and realism with which Iran played in the last two matches against Syria and Japan.
Al-Annabi is armed with several factors to overcome his Iranian counterpart:
Hero character
Achieving an achievement that had not happened in 20 years by maintaining the title (it happened with Japan in the 2000 and 2004 editions)
The exceptional public support in all Qatar national team matches
The level of the team increased as the tournament matches progressed
"black knight"
Annabi will clash with the "Lions of Persia" team, which has been panting since 1976 for its fourth title in the continental championship.
Iran put an end to Japan's superiority over it in the continental championship, as it achieved its first victory after two losses and two draws. It also scored against the "Samurai" for the first time and avenged its loss to it by three clean goals, in the semi-finals of the 2019 edition in the Emirates.
Iran continued a streak in which it had not lost in 18 matches, extending since November 29, 2022.
The prince of Neuilly Castle did not lose. (60 years old), who replaced Carlos Queiroz, has played in 16 matches since taking charge, but was criticized last year when Iran participated in friendly tournaments such as the Jordan International Championship and the Central Asian Federation Championship.
🎥 HIGHLIGHTS | 🇮🇷 IR Iran 2️⃣-1️⃣ Japan 🇯🇵
Team Melli leaves it late as captain Alireza Jahanbakhsh dramatically becomes a hero!
Match Report 🔗 https://t.co/IfrEmW6zRc#AsianCup2023 | #HayyaAsia | #IRNvJOR pic.twitter.com/xiNIe2KDnk
— #AsianCup2023 (@afcasiancup) February 3, 2024
Iran's path to this role is similar to the Qatar national team, as it achieved 3 victories over Palestine, Hong Kong, and the Emirates, but conceded two goals.
To face a combative Syrian team in the eighth final, forcing it to play two additional halves and then penalty kicks that went in the favor of the team with experience at the continental and international levels, whose captain Mehdi Taremi was expelled in stoppage time of the match (91st minute).
Tim Milli receives a huge morale boost with the return of Porto's Portuguese star, Taremi, in the confrontation against Qatar.
Coach Amir Qalaa has been stable on his starting lineup since the beginning of the tournament, with the only change being the reliance on Serdar Azmoun, the Italian Roma player, as a starter in the eighth and quarter-final matches. He also generally adopts one tactic, which is 4-2-3-1, and relies on a real spearhead. It is Azmoun and the other depends on Tarimi.
It seems that Amir Qalaa is adhering to this tactical drawing and will adopt it against Al-Anabi the day after tomorrow, Wednesday, in the second semi-final match.
The Iranian national team has several weapons in the semi-final match:
A large audience watched almost all of his country's matches
The experience of its stars who play in the best European clubs.
Physical strength and cross weapons were decisive in confronting the Japanese "computer".
His longing to win a championship (which he holds various records for) has been absent from his coffers for nearly 50 years.
"Nashama" and the fairy tale
The second representative of the Arabs in the semi-finals, he well deserves the title of “the dark horse in the tournament”, as he achieved a historic achievement by reaching the semi-finals for the first time in his history and wants to continue the march to the final and write a fictional story, entitled “The Starchy Champions of Asia”.
Jordan had achieved a precedent by reaching the golden square for the first time by defeating Tajikistan by a single goal, but it does not want to stop at this point.
It is clear that the “starchy” players gain more confidence as the matches pass, and more harmony appears in the group. Most importantly, they play with focus and calm until the last moments of the match. The team, in the 16-final match against Iraq, maintained its focus, after being behind in the score, until the 95th minute of the match. He scored two goals in two minutes and snatched victory from one of the title candidates.
In the quarter-finals, he maintained his early goal, which came with friendly fire. He did not retreat back or shrink in defense, but rather maintained his balance and focus and emerged with a historic victory and gained the respect of his competitors.
Al-Nashama will be absent from Salem Al-Ajalin and Ali Alwan due to the accumulation of warnings, while Nizar Al-Rashdan returns to the starting lineup.
🎥 Match summary | 🇹🇯 Tajikistan 0️⃣-1️⃣ Jordan 🇯🇴
A historic match for Al-Nashama in which the Jordanian team booked the ticket to qualify for the semi-finals of the #Asia_Cup 2023 👏 #Come on_Asia | #Tajikistan_Jordanpic.twitter.com/6t719XuK5z
- #AsiaCup 2023 (@afcasiancup_ar) February 2, 2024
Amouta is betting on the trio consisting of Yazan Al-Naimat, who scored two goals for Al-Nashama and contributed to the same, along with Moussa Al-Taamari, Montpellier’s French winger, and Mahmoud Mardi, both of whom have scored two goals in the tournament so far as well.
The two teams met in the group stage in this edition in a match that saw Jordan lead 2-1 until stoppage time, before the latter's defender Yazan Al-Arab scored an own goal that gave South Korea a draw.
Football experts believe that Moroccan coach Hussein Amouta is the secret to the success of the “Nashama” team after he succeeded in keeping his players away from the pressure of criticism and arrows of comments about him and the level of the players before the tournament, and he turned the tables on everyone by winning the first match against Malaysia with a clean score and it was close. It was very difficult to tame the "Korean Samson", and then a sudden loss against Bahrain, before it bared its teeth and presented its best level against Iraq, then achieved a well-deserved victory against Tajikistan.
Since the beginning of the tournament, Amouta has relied on a fixed formation and one tactical formation, which is 3-4-3 or 3-4-2-1, which is a balanced plan between defense and attack, with the midfield being the first to defend the goal and the first to launch attacks.
The Jordanian national team is armed with:
A large crowd filled the stands of Ahmed Ben Ali Stadium against Tajikistan
The desire to achieve an achievement that they see soon for Jordanian football
The enthusiasm and combativeness that was evident in the team’s various matches in the tournament
Moroccan coach Hussein Amouta was the key to achieving this achievement
The golden generation of "Samson"
Korea came close to ending the title drought that had lasted since 1960, when it won the continental title for the second time in a row, after its dramatic victory over Australia 2-1.
Regarding the difficulty of his team’s task after it played extra time twice in the qualifying rounds against Saudi Arabia and then Australia, team captain Hyun Min Son said, “It is the first time in my career that I have played 120 minutes in two matches in a row. It is not easy at all, but the spirit that the players show is great.” It makes us stick together, and I say with confidence that our strength lies in the spirit of one team.”
The last time South Korea reached the final was in the 2015 Australian edition, losing to the host country 1-2 after extra time in a match in which Son participated and scored his country's goal.
🎥 Match summary | 🇦🇺 Australia 1️⃣-2️⃣ South Korea 🇰🇷
A new remontada for the Korean team sends the Korean Samsons to the semi-finals of the #AsiaCup 2023 🔝 #Come onAsia | #Australia_Koreapic.twitter.com/BfTxUjz30k
- #AsiaCup 2023 (@afcasiancup_ar) February 2, 2024
The Korean Samson, one of the candidates to win the title due to the contingent of players playing in the best European leagues, suffered almost in the various matches he played in the tournament:
By defeating Bahrain, the latter equalized the score and the Koreans had to double the effort to win the match
In front of Jordan, the Koreans waited for a gift from the Jordanian player Yazan Al-Arab in order to achieve a draw in the fatal hour of the match
In the face of Malaysia, they received a 3-3 equalizer in the fatal hour of the match
In the final match against Saudi Arabia, they scored the equalizer in the penultimate minute of stoppage time and won the match on penalties.
Against Australia, they also scored the equalizer in the penultimate minute of stoppage time, and snatched the victory from a free kick in extra time.
What is noteworthy is that the Korean team conceded 8 goals in 6 matches, and this means that there is a problem and gaps in its defense, which is exacerbated by the absence of Kim Min-jae, Bayern Munich defender, due to the accumulation of warnings.
German Jurgen Klemensen does not change much in his starting lineup or his tactical drawing, as he adopted 4-4-2 in the group stage and then 4-2-3-1 in the knockout rounds.
It is possible to give the title “Patience and Focus” to the semi-final confrontation between Korea and Jordan because the two teams have proven that they are not hasty, even if they concede goals or are late in the result, and are capable of maintaining their lead and not committing many mistakes during matches that are not divisible by two.
In their confrontation with the “Nashama” team, the Koreans rely on:
The quality of their players and their experience in these matches
Their experienced coach, who previously won the Gold Cup and the World Cup with the American national team as a player
Their leader, Son, was able, with two shots, to turn Australia's match upside down
Their focus and calm after they were able to return with the result in 3 matches in this tournament.
Source: Al Jazeera