Asia Cup Morita and Taremi among the stars of the East

The Asian Cup kicks off in Qatar next Friday: Japanese team Sporting is one of the strongest candidates for the title. An Iranian player from FC Porto plays…the future

The 18th Asian Cup begins on Friday in Qatar, a tournament that brings together every four years the most prominent stars of the huge continent. It has been postponed since last summer, due to the high temperatures in the Middle East and the host country's participation in the Gold Cup, so the 2023 edition will only start in January 2024, in the middle of the season in Europe, which greatly upsets some clubs, thank you. Awarding stars to their teams for about a month.

This is the case of Morita, from Sporting Japan, and Taremi, from FC Porto, the biggest figure in Iran and who sees in this competition an opportunity to shine and… define his future, perhaps away from Dragao.

We have very high expectations. I hope I can win the cup

This is also the case with Osama Rashid, the Iraqi from Vizela and many other pearls of eastern football, such as the Japanese Kubo (Real Sociedad), Mitoma (Brighton), Tomiyasu (Arsenal), or Endo (Liverpool); South Koreans Min Jae Kim (Bayern) and Heung-Min Son (Tottenham); Iranians Sardar Azmoun (Roma) and Ali Reza (Feyenoord); Or Australian Harry Souttar (Leicester).

In the remaining selections, problem Not much is said because almost all of those selected play in the Asian leagues, and they made stops during the Asian Cup.

Japan is a major favorite

Japan, the four-time champion of the continent, is considered the favorite in its quest to save the title that has eluded it for 12 years, and which it lost again in 2011, when it lost the final to Qatar. Morita, the Japanese group's official spokesman, spoke yesterday about the dream of lifting the cup again: “We have very high expectations. I hope I can win the cup. Will I be a starter? No matter who plays, I want to be in good shape. It's impossible to be perfect in the first match, but I will practice as much as possible so that I have a good connection with them [Endo, do Liverpool, e Sano, do Kashima, que formam com Morita o trio de meio-campo]»

Two debutant teams and… Paulo Pinto

In the fight for Asia's most coveted title, there will be 24 national teams, including two teams appearing for the first time in the finals – Tajikistan and Hong Kong – and a team led by a Portuguese coach already accustomed to such adventures: Paulo Bento, the United coach. The United Arab Emirates, which led South Korea in the previous edition, 2019, to the quarter-finals, and fell to Qatar (0-1), the team that will end up becoming Asian champions.

Palestine Drama

A choice that sparked interest middle It is Palestine, Emirates Group, Pinto. Some players have already lost family members in the heavy Israeli bombing of Gaza, and as coach Makram Daboub explains, “football no longer has any importance.” “It is normal for the players to be attached to their families all the time.” Tablets Or cell phones searching for news, before and after training. Palestine will play its first match on Sunday against Iran.

Before that, today, at four o’clock in the afternoon, Portuguese time, the opening match of the 2023 Asian Cup will be held between the host country, Qatar, and Lebanon.