AFC Asian Cup 2023, Group C preview: Teams, squad; Iran eyes continental crown after 47 years

The 24-team tournament will see Qatar try and defend the title while Iran from Group C looks to become the joint-most successful side in the tournament, which will start on January 12.

Iran. which is the joint-second-most successful side in the AFC Asian Cup, with three titles, will look to get level with Japan’s tally of four at the 18th edition of the tournament, in Qatar. | Photo Credit: REUTERS

All leading football nations in Asia are set to compete for the continental crown, the AFC Asian Cup, which returns to Qatar after 12 years. The 24-team tournament will see Qatar try and defend the title while Iran from Group C looks to become the joint-most successful side in the tournament, which will start on January 12.

IRAN

FIFA Ranking: 21

Best finish: Champions (1968, 1972, 1976)

Coach: Amir Ghalenoei

Prospects: Heavyweights Iran are always among the favourites to win the Asian Cup and the three-times champions head into the competition on an unbeaten run of 12 games, with their last defeat coming over a year ago at the 2022 World Cup in Qatar.

Mehdi Taremi’s poor club form with Porto may be the cause of some concern for Iran’s fans, but with six goals in his last six international games there is little doubt that the striker will flourish at the Asian Cup.

FULL IRAN SQUAD

Goalkeepers: Alireza Beiranvand, Payam Niazmand, Hossein Hosseini

Defenders: Milad Mohammadi, Ehsan Hajisafi, Ramin Rezaeian, Sadegh Moharrami, Saman Fallah, Rouzbeh Cheshmi, Hossein Kanaanizadegan, Shoja Khalilzadeh, Majid Hosseini, Aria Yousefi

Midfielders: Saeid Ezatolahi, Mohammad Mohebbi, Saman Ghoddos, Mehdi Torabi, Alireza Jahanbakhsh, Mohammadjavad Hosseinnejad, Omid Ebrahimi, Ali Gholizadeh, Mehdi Ghaedi

Forwards: Shahriar Moghanlou, Mehdi Taremi, Sardar Azmoun, Reza Asadi, Karim Ansarifard

UNITED ARAB EMIRATES

FIFA Ranking: 64

Best finish: Runners-up (1996)

Coach: Paulo Bento (Portugal)

Prospects: The United Arab Emirates, who finished third in 2015 and fourth in 2019, will be looking for another strong showing in neighbouring Qatar.

Bento was brought into the fold after a disappointing group stage exit at last year’s Gulf Cup and the UAE won six straight games under the former South Korea coach before losing to Oman.

FULL UAE SQUAD

Goalkeepers: Ali Khasif, Khalid Eisa, Khaled Tawhid

Defenders: Abdullah Idrees, Hashemi Hussain, Khalifa Al Hammadi, Mohamad Al-Attas, Khaled Ebraheim Al Dhanhani, Ahmed Abdulla, Abdelrahman Saleh, Bader Abaelaziz

Midfielders: Zayed Sultan, Ali Salmeen, Majid Rashid, Tahnoon Al-Zaabi, Abdulla Hamad, Yahia Nader, Mohamed Abbas, Abdalla Ramadan, Harib Abdalla Al-Maazmi

Forwards: Ali Mabkhout, Ali Saleh, Fabio Lima, Caio, Yahya Al Ghassani, Sultan Adill Alamiri

PALESTINE

FIFA Ranking: 99

Best finish: Group stage (2015, 2019)

Coach: Makram Daboub (Tunisia)

Prospects: Palestine’s preparations for the Asian Cup have been anything but smooth amid the conflict in Gaza and a first win in an Asian Cup match in their third finals campaign might be the realistic extent of their ambitions.

Despite their off-field worries, Palestine have had some positive results in the last year, including a win over Bahrain.

FULL PALESTINE SQUAD

Goalkeepers: Rami Hamadeh, Naeem Abu Akar, and Baraa Kharoub

Defenders: Amr Kaddoura, Musab Al-Battat, Moussa Fairawi, Mohamed Khalil, Samer El-Gendy, Camilo Saldana, Michel Milan, Mohamed Saleh, and Yasser Hamad

Midfielders: Al-Mahdi Issa, Amid Mahajna, Ataa Jaber, Adi Kharoub, Muhammad Bassem, Samer Al-Zubaidi, Tamer Siam, and Mahmoud Abu Wardeh

Forwards: Islam Al-Batran, Alaeddin Hussein, Mahmoud Wadi, Shihab Al-Qanbar, Zaid Al-Qanbar, and Uday Al-Dabbagh

HONG KONG

FIFA Ranking: 150

Best finish: Third place (1956)

Coach: Jorn Andersen (Norway)

Prospects: Hong Kong, the lowest-ranked team in the continental tournament, have the odds stacked against them in their first Asian Cup campaign since 1968.

They can take heart from a 2-1 win over China in a friendly on Jan. 1 and neutrals can look forward to the offensive, high-pressing playing style that Andersen has fostered in the team.

FULL HONG KONG SQUAD

Goalkeepers: Hung-Fai Yapp, Ng Wai Him, Ka-Wing Tse

Defenders: Sean Tse Ka Keung, Gerbig Oliver, Vas Nunez, Helio, Tsz-Chun Law, Ngai Hoi Li

Midfielders: Wu Chun-Ming, Chun-Lok Tan, Wai Wong, Lam Hin Ting, Chan Siu Kwan, Shinichi Chan, Tze-Nam Yue, Yu Joy Yin, Ju Yingzhi

Forwards: Matthew Orr, Everton Camargo, Poon Pui Hin, Chang Hei Yin, Michael Udebuluzor, Sun Ming-Him, Stefan Figueiredo Pereira, Juninho

(from Reuters)