(Reuters) – Statbox on Group D at the Asian Cup, which will be held in Qatar from Jan. 12 to Feb. 10:
JAPAN
FIFA Ranking: 17
Best finish: Champions (1992, 2000, 2004, 2011)
Coach: Hajime Moriyasu
Prospects: Japan were outstanding in 2023 and have lost only one game since their round of 16 exit at the 2022 World Cup with wins over Germany, Canada and Turkey in recent months.
The highest-ranked team in the competition, Japan boast a side filled with players competing in Europe’s top leagues and are favourites for a record-extending fifth title.
IRAQ
FIFA Ranking: 63
Best finish: Champions (2007)
Coach: Jesus Casas (Spain)
Prospects: Iraq’s build-up to the tournament has been promising, with the 2007 champions having beaten Saudi Arabia and Qatar en route to winning the Arabian Gulf Cup last year.
The ‘Lions of Mesopotamia’ also won the King’s Cup – a friendly tournament in Thailand – in September and claimed wins over group rivals Vietnam and Indonesia in World Cup qualifiers last November.
VIETNAM
FIFA Ranking: 94
Best finish: Quarter-finals (2007, 2019)
Coach: Philippe Troussier (France)
Prospects: Weakened by a series of injuries to key players, Vietnam are likely to find it difficult to get out of a tough group in Qatar and replicate their run to the last eight in 2019.
They will, however, fancy their chances of recording a win in their penultimate group match against Indonesia, who they defeated in the semi-finals of the ASEAN Championship last year.
INDONESIA
FIFA Ranking: 146
Best finish: Group stage (1996, 2000, 2004, 2007)
Coach: Shin Tae-yong (South Korea)
Prospects: Indonesia are the second-lowest ranked of all the teams that qualified for the tournament and there appears little chance they can get out of the group for the first time.
They missed out on the 2019 tournament because of a FIFA suspension and despite the enthusiasm for the game back home, recent results suggest a third win in their fifth Asian Cup campaign might be the best they can hope for.
(Compiled by Aadi Nair in Nashik, India; Editing by Peter Rutherford)
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