Japan vs Iraq Live Stream Free AFC Asian Cup 2015 Preview

Samurai Blue will face the Lions of Mesopotamia in this high profile group D game, with both teams having 3 points in their kitty. Japan will clearly start as favourites, however Iraq are formidable opponents who can hurt big names. Both teams won their first game. Japan were clinical and thrashed Palestine 4-0, while Iraq played a drab game, and got a goal towards the end against Jordan, which turns out to be the only goal of the game. A win here will put the winner in the driver’s seat and both teams would be hoping for that. This will also mean that they will be able to rest key players in the final group game.

Iraq and Japan would play very different tactics. Iraq is known to be cautious, compact and their matches typically see very few goals. Japan, on the other hand, will be extremely dynamic and try to attack a lot, often giving the opponent a chance to score. Iraq will also try to impose a physical game to break Japan’s free flowing dynamic football. Japan’s superior experience will come handy. In their last 5 games, Iraq has won two games, against Uzbekistan and Jordan. They have scored only 3 goals in these 5 games, while conceding twice. The five games saw a total of 5 goals! Japan has won 4 of their last 5 games, including a 2-1 win against Australia. They were defeated by the mighty Brazil 0-4. In these 5 games, Japan scored 14 goals, conceding 5 goals. The numbers clearly shows the difference between the approaches of these two teams.

Football lovers will love to see some of the top class Japanese players like Shinji Kagawa, Shinji Okazaki, Keisuke Honda, Yasuhito Endo to name a few. For Iraq, their captain Younis Mahmoud will spearhead the attack, who has 51 international goals. Yaser Kasim, the ‘Iraqi Pirlo’ will have to take a lot of responsibility on his 23 year old shoulder. A 4-2-3-1 formation expected from Iraq.

In terms of preparation, Iraq is pretty much lagging behind Japan. With conflict and ISIS very much a bread and breakfast for Iraq, the team has found very little time and resources for the preparations. Strangely, Iraq’s coach Radhi Shanaishel is not even a full time national team coach. He has been lent to Iraq by his club Nadi Qatar for the duration of this tournament. Japan has experienced Mexican coach Javier Aguirre, who has the experience of coaching Mexico national team and Real Madrid. However, his alleged involvement in match fixing scandal during his tenure with Real Zaragoza might have a disturbing effect in the team

Source: http://www.indianfootballnetwork.com/blog/2015/01/16/japan-vs-iraq-live-stream-free-afc-asian-cup-2015-preview/

Jordan vs Palestine Live Stream Free AFC Asian Cup 2015 Preview

The Melbourne Rectangular Stadium will see a very important ‘middle-east clash’ as Palestine faces Jordan. Geographical neighbours, Palestine and Jordan not only share borders but Jordan has been a crucial ally for Palestine. Due to the Israel-Palestine conflict, Palestinians can only travel internationally from the Jordan borders, furthermore, Jordan provides aid for a great number of Palestinian refugees. However, the game is not expected to see any friendly discounts as both teams are itching to get some points besides their name.

In their first game, Jordan suffered a 0-1 defeat against Iraq, while Palestine experienced a 0-4 rout against Asian powerhouse, Japan. Both teams lack points and will try to make best of this game, as they face a tough 3rd game. It is expected Jordan will start as favourites against Palestine, who got Asian Cup entry as the AFC Challenge Cup winners, often touted as a backdoor entry for Asian Cup.

History also seems to be against Palestine. In the seven games played between these two opponents, Palestine is yet to win a game, while 4 games has been a draw. Both teams are also in a poor patch of form. Jordan has not won a game in their last 11 matches, with only two draws. They have lost all the last 6 games. The team chemistry seems to be poor as well, as in their opening game they could complete only 60% of their passes. Palestine, on the other hand, hasn’t scored a goal in their last three games.

Palestine would try to use their foreign based players to the fullest in this game where they have the most likely chance of earning some points. Slovenian born pacy diminutive forward Jaka Ihbeisheh will need to gather all his European experience to bring joy to this conflict torn nation. Captain Ramzi Saleh, the Egypt based goalie will need to be at his best to thwart the Jordanian attacks. However, one man who really needs to up his game is Asraf Numan, who was in a great form in the AFC Challenge Cup but was nowhere to be found during the game against Japan. Saeb Jendaya, the Palestinian coach would look forward to this clash and must have prepared intensely for this particular game against this more familiar opponent.

Jordan will clearly miss front-man Ahmad Hayel. In his absence, the Jordan star Abdallah Deeb will need to take extra responsibility of both creating and scoring. Ray Wilkins, the former Chelsea, QPR and Fulham coach will be feeling the pressure with the recent poor form. He will hope that 23-year winger Khalil Bani Attiah and Hamza Al-Dardour will deliver their best in this game and keep their hopes alive for the qualification.

Source: http://www.indianfootballnetwork.com/blog/2015/01/16/jordan-vs-palestine-live-stream-free-afc-asian-cup-2015-preview/