Asian’s premier football tournament, the AFC Asian Cup will kickstart on January 12, with host Qatar taking on Lebanon.
Here is the preview for Group E in the tournament.
South Korea
FIFA Ranking: 23
Best finish: Champions (1956, 1960)
Coach: Juergen Klinsmann (Germany)
Prospects: Perennial Asian representatives at World Cups, it is among the favourites with two Premier League calibre goal scorers leading the line -- skipper Son Heung-min and Hwang Hee-chan -- who have 22 league goals between them this season.
Combined with Paris St Germain playmaker Lee Kang-in and Bayern Munich defender Kim Min-jae, South Korea have European football pedigree and arrive in Qatar having not conceded a goal in its last six matches while scoring 20.
Squad
Bahrain
FIFA Ranking: 86
Best finish: Fourth place (2004)
Coach: Juan Antonio Pizzi (Spain)
Prospects: Bahrain’s ‘golden generation’ took the country to the Asian Cup semifinal in 2004 but since then it has failed to recapture that same form in major tournaments.
The team improved under former coaches Miroslav Soukup, who nurtured emerging talent, and Helio Sousa, who oversaw a first Gulf Cup victory in 2019. Another trip to the knockout rounds is a distinct possibility for the improving Gulf nation.
Squad
Jordan
FIFA Ranking: 87
Best finish: Quarter-finals (2004, 2011)
Coach: Hussein Ammouta (Morocco)
Prospects: In coach Ammouta, Jordan have someone with vast experience of playing and coaching in Qatar’s top flight, but its results in the past few months do not inspire confidence.
It ended 2023 without winning in seven games, suffering six losses. However, it will be buoyed by a 2-1 come-from-behind victory over host and defending champions Qatar in a friendly last week - Ammouta’s first win as Jordan’s coach.
Squad
Malaysia
FIFA Ranking: 130
Best finish: Group stage (1976, 1980, 2007)
Coach: Kim Pan-gon (South Korea)
Prospects: Although Malaysia played in the 2007 Asian Cup as co-hosts, it has waited 44 years to actually qualify for the tournament and will be rank outsiders to progress to the knockouts.
But in coach Kim, it has the man who reshaped the South Korean team when he was the KFA’s vice-president. It will play with nothing to lose while it comes into the tournament on the back of three wins in their last four games in 2023.
Squad
From Reuters
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