On Friday morning, Iraq and Japan go head-to-head in what could possibly be a vital game in Group D of the Asian Cup.
Jesus Casas’ team made a bright start to their Group D campaign with a 3-1 win against Indonesia. Another victory in this encounter is likely to be enough to seal progress into the competition's knockout stages.
🎥 WATCH: All the highlights from our 3-1 victory over Indonesia in Qatar! ✊#IDNvIRQ #AsianCup2023pic.twitter.com/I0fUJwHsQ1— Iraq National Team (@IraqNT_EN) January 15, 2024
🎥 WATCH: All the highlights from our 3-1 victory over Indonesia in Qatar! ✊#IDNvIRQ #AsianCup2023pic.twitter.com/I0fUJwHsQ1
The victory continued a decent recent run of form for Iraq in the international game, as they have now won three of their last four matches. They have also lost just once in their previous eight games over 90 minutes.
Iraq has an inconsistent recent record in the Asian Cup, as they have won just three of their last eight matches in the competition. However, those three victories have all come in their previous five matches.
The Samurai Blue have been in impressive recent form, as a 4-2 opening group game win over Vietnam means that they have now recorded 11 straight international victories.
Like their opponents, another win would likely see them seal progress to the knockout rounds.
One of the main reasons for Japan’s recent victories has been their attacking prowess, as Hajime Moriyasu’s team has scored at least two goals in all 11 of those recent victories.
Japan has a solid recent record in this competition, as they have won seven of their last eight matches at the Asian Cup, with the only blip in the run a 3-1 defeat against Qatar in the 2019 edition.
Their recent encounters at the Asian Cup have been relatively high-scoring, with over 2.5 goals scored in the last three matches.
Forebet predicts that Japan will record a victory in a low-scoring encounter to all but seal a spot in the knockout stages of the Asian Cup.