The group stage tests the strength of the West and the East is weak.
Text/Xiao Nan, special correspondent of Beijing Youth Daily in Doha, Qatar
On the evening of January 21, local time, the Saudi team in Group F defeated the Kyrgyzstan team 2-0, thus becoming the fifth team to advance to the knockout rounds of this Asian Cup with two consecutive victories. The Vietnam team in Group D and the Malaysian team in Group E suffered two consecutive defeats and locked in the bottom position of their respective groups, thus being eliminated early.
Judging from the results of the first two rounds of the group stage that have ended, the West Asian teams are generally strong. The reason is not only related to their own hard power, but also related to their unique “home field advantage”.
4 of the 5 teams that qualified early are from West Asia
On the 21st local time, the Asian Cup held two games in the second round of Group F, which were also the last two games of the round. Among them, the Thai team drew 0-0 with the Oman team, which unfortunately lost to the Saudi team in the first round. With 1 win and 1 draw, the Thai team is expected to qualify. Shortly thereafter, the Saudi team defeated the Kyrgyzstan team 2-0 without any suspense. While continuing to lead the group standings, it also entered the knockout rounds one round ahead of schedule.
Prior to this, 4 other teams qualified from the group ahead of schedule. They are Qatar in Group A, Australia in Group B, Iran in Group C, and Iraq in Group D. Among the five teams that qualified early, except for the Australian team, the other four are all strong teams in the West Asian region in the traditional sense (Iranian football is also included in the West Asian football region as usual). As the two favorite teams to win this cup, Japan and South Korea have a theoretical possibility of being eliminated after being blocked by the two strongest teams in West Asia, Iraq and Jordan respectively, although this possibility is slim.
In fact, among the five teams that qualified in advance, except for the Iraqi team, the other four teams are seeded teams and have all participated in the 2022 World Cup. The Iraqi team was able to end the Japanese team’s 10-game winning streak. It seemed accidental, but in fact the victory was very convincing. Although they gave up possession of the ball, they counterattacked vigorously and used their physical advantage to completely suppress the Japanese team’s passing. The Jordan team’s approach to blocking the South Korean team is also similar. However, the Korean team relied on the performance of its star players and competition experience to tie the score at the buzzer and avoid the embarrassment of losing.
“Encirclement and suppression” of traditional East Asian strong teams such as Japan and South Korea
It has to be said that the West Asian teams, especially the traditional strong teams, entered the state earlier in this competition. In addition, although the teams in West Asia are not as star-studded as the Japanese and Korean teams, the individual skills and overall collaborative capabilities of the players are not inferior. Take the Jordan team that “tortured” the South Korean team as an example. Half of the 26 players on this team play for European clubs. Their main attacker, Tamari, known as the “Jordan Messi”, scored twice, helping the team beat the Malaysian team with 4 goals in the first round of the group stage. The 26-year-old has become the offensive core of the French Ligue 1 team Montpellier. It is not accidental at all that the Jordanian team, which has many powerful players, can turn the Korean team’s defense upside down.
Before the group stage of this Asian Cup is over, it seems to be showing a situation of “strong in the west and weak in the east”. There are many reasons other than competitive factors behind this. For example, the Qatar team took advantage of its host advantage and obtained a relatively obvious advantage in the group draw. Being able to be grouped together with the Tajikistan team, which is participating for the first time, the third-tier team Lebanon, and the Chinese team, which has declined significantly in recent years, it is a surprise that the Qatar team, which plays at home, does not qualify.
Teams in West Asia have “home field advantage”
In fact, Qatar is not the only team with “home field advantage”. Beijing Youth Daily reporters went to various venues to cover multiple group matches and found that whenever “Eastern and Western Asian football forces” encounter each other, the game site will mostly become the home court of West Asian teams. For example, during the Group D match between Japan and Iraq, more than 38,000 spectators poured into the Doha Education City Stadium. During the game, the roar of the Iraqi fans completely drowned out the cheers of the Japanese fans. A similar scene also occurred during the match between South Korea and Jordan. More than 37,000 spectators flooded into the Tumama Stadium where the match was held. However, Korean fans still clearly fell behind in the cheering competition with the opposing fans. Among the 39,000 spectators who attended the match between Saudi Arabia and Kyrgyzstan, at least more than 7 were fans of the Saudi team.
Reporters from Beiqing Daily saw in many venues of this Asian Cup that fans of various West Asian teams have a relatively rich range of souvenirs. In the major sporting goods stores in the center of Doha where many participating teams are staying and hotels, in addition to the Qatar team jerseys, the jerseys of the Oman team, Saudi Arabia team and other West Asian teams are hot-selling products. Abiy Abiy, a staff member of the AFC media department, said, “To a large extent, this Asian Cup has become an alternative home venue for teams in West Asia.”
Only through the first two rounds of the group stage, it is difficult to make an accurate judgment on the future competition trend of this Asian Cup. However, the brigades in West Asia will not miss the opportunity to “encircle and suppress” the traditional strong teams in East Asia such as Japan and South Korea on their own territory. The overt and covert struggle between the East and West Asian football powers will become more intense through this cup. It’s just that the Chinese team, which is getting worse and worse, can only become a spectator in this competition.