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AFC - DEFENDING Asian Cup champions Japan
were handed a tough assignment for this year's tournament in China after
being drawn in the same group with three-time winners Iran.
The Asian Cup, China 2004 draw, which was held at the People's Great Hall of
China in Chongqing on Thursday evening, saw Japan, coached by Brazilian
legend Zico being named as the top seeds in Group D. They will face Iran,
Thailand and Oman during the group stage of the competition which runs from
July 17 to August 7.
While the Thais and Omanis are expected to pose a tough challenge for the
Japanese and Iranian sides, it will be the match-up of the two Asian giants,
who have five Asian Cup titles between them, in Chongqing on July 28 that
will capture the attention of Asian football fans.
It will be only the third meeting between the two teams at the Asian Cup
finals. Japan won their most recent encounter during the group stages of the
1992 tournament in Hiroshima when their 1-0 victory eliminated Iran and set
them on the road to their first ever Asian Cup triumph.
The two sides played to a goalless draw during the group stages of the 1988
tournament in Qatar.
Hosts China are set to kick off the tournament on July 17 when they face
Bahrain at the Worker's Stadium in Beijing, following the opening ceremony.
Having finished fourth at the Asian Cup in Lebanon in 2000, as well as
qualifying for the FIFA World Cup finals for the first time in 2002, China
will be fancied to advance from Group A. However, they will not have things
easy against the likes of Qatar, Indonesia and Bahrain, who were named as
the Best Mover of the Year by FIFA after rising 41 spots in the World
Ranking in 2003.
In Group B, World Cup 2002 semi-finalists Korea Republic will take on the
United Arab Emirates, Jordan and former winners Kuwait.
The Kuwaitis should prove an especially tough test for the Koreans after
posting the second best record in the qualifying rounds by winning 16 out of
a possible 18 points.
The best record in the qualifying rounds was that of Saudi Arabia who went
perfect by winning all six of their matches, scoring 31 goals and conceding
only one in the process. The three-time Asian Cup champions and 2000
runners-up will face a daunting task in a tough Group C that includes
Turkmenistan, Uzbekistan and Iraq.
With all four teams winning their respective qualifying groups, it will be a
toss-up as to which of the sides will advance to the latter stages of the
competition.
The top two teams in each group will advance to the knockout rounds,
commencing with the quarter-finals on Friday, July 30.
The final will be played at the Beijing Worker's Stadium on Saturday, August
7, 2004. |
