China welcome the visitors Iran in the Asian Cup – Play Offs – Quarter-finals. The match will be held on Thursday, January 24th, at the Mohammed Bin Zayed Stadium (Abu Dhabi).
The China national team have made the most of this Asian Cup! They have confidently progressed to the group stage and then passed the doable Thailand opponent in the 1/8 Finals. In the quarter-final, the team will drop out the Cup though, as they will find it hard to oppose Iran, solid by the Asian standards. China is a great country leading in the Olympic games, but their playing sports fall behind; football in China is very bleak. Chinese clubs can hire star players, but the national team do not benefit from this. Their progression to the quarter-final of the Continent Cup was possible mostly to the tournament format, as the number of contenders was increased from sixteen to twenty-four – the Chinese team did not look that weak compared to clear outsiders Philippines and Kyrgyzstan. As for their clash against the South Koreans at the group stage, the scoreline showed their 0:2 loss, but the team’s performance deserved a 0:4 or 0:5 defeat at least. So, there is not much to hope for in the coming head-to-head versus Iran.
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The Thursday visitors are probably seen as the main favorites in this cup. In contrast to the Australians or the Japanese, the Iran team look more experienced and well-knit. They demonstrate a clear playing style – it is not very exciting; they go by a scoreline, making a goal, then they concentrate on defense and, if they manage to counterattack, they may end in a 2:0 win. Over four cup fixtures, the Irani have not allowed yet, which is quite expectedly, as the team’s defense is strongest in Asia. The opposing sides like Oman, Vietnam, Iraq, or Yemen find it next to impossible to unlock it. The China team can also fall in this list. In the encounter against South Korea, the Chinese players made only one shot on target, and the Koreans and the Irani feature similar class. So, we may expect no goals made by China tomorrow.
No need to complicate things as far as the prediction for the coming match is concerned. We’ll bet on the favorites’ success. Also, Iran’s shutout win is very possible. The odds on this option are quite appealing.
Prediction for the match: Iran to win.
