The first match in an action-packed first Sunday at the AFC Asian Cup will see one of the tournament favourites Japan take on Vietnam at the Al Thumama Stadium in Doha.
This clash will be the opening match in Group D of the competition, which also includes Indonesia and Iraq, who will square off at the Ahmad bin Ali Stadium on Monday afternoon.
Match preview
As the highest-ranked team in the competition, Japan features a squad comprising players from some of Europe's elite leagues and are heavily backed to to secure what would be a record-extending fifth title.
Japan clinched their first-ever Asian Cup trophy back in 1992 by defeating Saudi Arabia 1-0 in the final, with Takuya Takagi playing a pivotal role and scoring the match-winner in the 36th minute.
However, they had to wait almost a decade for their second title but managed it in 2000, when they once again overcame the Green Falcons 1-0 thanks to Shigeyoshi Mochizuki's first-half strike.
The Samurai Blue were extremely impressive once again in 2023, losing only one game since bowing out in the last 16 at the 2022 World Cup, while they have also secured victories over Germany, Canada and Turkey in recent months.
Japan have now won their last nine games in total, and while the current team may seem inexperienced at first glance, the Samurai Blue have been churning out big results almost with ease and look like the team to beat based on form in the lead-up to the competition.
In the realm of Asian football, many would likely agree that the South and Southeast Asian regions have often been neglected and lacked the attention and investment seen in some of the other regions.
However, this narrative began to change in 2019, marked by Vietnam's journey to the Asian Cup quarter-finals and their subsequent advancement to the third-round qualifiers of the 2022 World Cup.
The Golden Star Warriors secured qualification for the continental competition for the second consecutive time this year, with their previous edition seeing them reach the quarter-finals before bowing out to none other than their opponents in this match.
Philippe Troussier was appointed as the successor to long-term coach Hang-seo Park back in March last year and made a very promising start to life as the Vietnam boss, winning his first three matches in succession. However, his side failed to maintain that momentum and lost five of their next six games, including a 2-1 defeat to Kyrgyz Republic in midweek.
Japan and Vietnam have met five times across all competitions, with The Samurai Blue dominating the fixture, boasting an unbeaten record of four wins, while one match ended in a draw.
Team News
The competition for places in Japan's team is evident as players like Ao Tanaka of Fortuna Dusseldorf and Kyogo Furuhashi of Celtic, who both scored in the 2022 World Cup, did not make the final squad.
Yet, despite having a star-studded roster, Hajime Moriyasu's team surprisingly lacks international goalkeeping experience, with all three of their goalkeepers, Daiya Maekawa, Taishi Nozawa and Zion Suzuki, holding only five senior caps combined.
Brighton & Hove Albion winger Kaoru Mitoma has been included in the squad despite an injury, with Japan optimistic about his potential return to fitness during the tournament.
Vietnam were hit with an injury crisis leading up to the competition, with Que Ngoc Hai, Nguyen Tien Linh, Dang Van Lam, Nguyen Thanh Chung and Hoang Van Toan all dropping out of the squad in recent weeks.
Nguyen Hoang Duc made the 26-man squad for the Golden Star Warriors but is still recovering from an ankle injury and has been confirmed as a definite absentee for this opening match.
Japan possible starting lineup:
Maekawa; Tomiyasu, Machida, Sugawara, H. Ito; Endo, Morita, J. Ito, Kubo, Asano; Ueda
Vietnam possible starting lineup:
Trieu; Thanh, Binh, Phan, Anh; Trong, Thanh, Nguyen, Toan; Linh, Pham
We say: Japan 3-0 Vietnam
Japan will get their Asian Cup campaign started carrying excellent form and boasting a star-studded roster that would likely pose a challenge to any team in world football. While everyone loves a nail-biting opening round fixture, we feel that this will not be one of those and expect the Samurai Blue to cruise to victory in this one.
For data analysis of the most likely results, scorelines and more for this match please click here.
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