Agencies
Doha
Iraq head coach Jesus Casas is fully aware of the formidable challenge awaiting his team when they play Japan in Group D of the AFC Asian Cup Qatar 2023 on Friday.
Despite the confidence gained from the commanding 3-1 victory over Indonesia in their opening game, Casas said nothing short of a flawless performance will suffice if his side are to upstage the four-time champions at the Education City Stadium.
“Japan are one of the strongest teams in the competition and have had a lot of time with their coach (Hajime Moriyasu),” said the Spaniard.
“Many of their players are in the top leagues in Europe, and they have also had a phenomenal run at the FIFA World Cup (Qatar 2022).To beat them, we need to play a perfect match.”
Iraq will be without Danilo Al-Saed while there is uncertainty surrounding the availability of Osama Rashid, who flew to Portugal to be with his family following the birth of his child.
However, the Iraq head coach was unfazed about potentially losing two key players, asserting that there are occasions when priorities extend beyond the football pitch.
“My priority is the welfare of my team. Danilo didn’t feel his mental health was at its best and it is my responsibility to allow him to take time off. Similarly, Osama had to leave to be with his family because football may be important, but in life, there are more important things,” said Casas.
Moriyasu is optimistic of his team’s chances, saying Japan have learnt from the mistakes made against Vietnam, which ended 4-2 in his side’s favour.
“I know some of the fans are disappointed with our performance against Vietnam. They expected a more decisive win but I shouldn’t be too worried,” said the former Japan midfielder.
“There were some errors made in the earlier game and we have learned from them, while also identifying many positive trends.”
Moriyasu acknowledged Iraq’s physical advantage but brushed away concerns about the ability of the Japanese defence to cope with the challenge.
“After observing Iraq play, I am fully aware of their ability to perform together as a unit,” he said. “Even though some people have lost a bit of faith in our team after we conceded two goals in the opening match, I have a lot of confidence in our defenders.
“I think they’ve been using their space very well. In fact, I’m sure that even if we made no changes to our team, we would still be able to deliver.”Key Factors
Iraq v Japan
Unbeaten run: Japan are unbeaten in their last nine internationals against Iraq (W7 D2) but were held 1-1 in their most recent encounter (June 2017); though, they have won each of their two games against Iraq at the AFC Asian Cup (2000, 2015).
Tough statcColor:> From the four occasions when Iraq won their opening AFC Asian Cup match, they have succeeded to win back-to-back only once. However, this happened in the 2019 tournament. They also managed to proceed to the knock-out stage whenever they’ve won their first match of the group stage (1996, 2000, 2015, 2019).
Amazing tally: Japan are undefeated in their last 25 AFC Asian Cup group stage matches (W19 D6), winning each of their last nine.
Instant herocColor:> Osama Rashid scored his first AFC Asian Cup goal with his first shot on target against Indonesia. He is, alongside Ali Adnan and Jalal Hassan, three Iraqi players who played in the last three editions of the AFC Asian Cup.
Influential Minamino: Takumi Minamino was directly involved in three goals against Vietnam (2 goals, 1 assist), the first Japanese player to do so in an AFC Asian Cup match since Shinji Kagawa in 2011 (quarter-final against Qatar, 2 goals, 1assist
