AFC Asian Cup Qatar 2023: Syria to Face Uzbekistan Saturday Hoping of Breaking Group Stage Bad Luck

Doha, January 12 (QNA) - The Syrian National football team is looking to start on a high note when it faces Uzbekistan on Saturday at the Jassim bin Hamad Stadium. This will mark the start of its journey in the AFC Asian Cup Qatar 2023 within Group B which also includes Australia, the champion of the 2015 edition, and India.

              Classified 91st in the FIFA rankings of December 2023, the Syrian team seeks to break the deadlock of not progressing beyond the group stage in the previous six editions.

              In its previous six opening matches, Syria avoided defeat in 4 of them (win 1, draw 3, loss 2), but overall, the Syrian team lost 52 percent of its matches in the tournament (11 losses in 21 matches). 

              Syria have won 7 of their 21 matches in the Asian Cup (3 draws and 11 losses) and each of their seven wins was by a single goal.

              Argentine Hector Cuper, the coach of the Syrian national team, hopes for a satisfactory result in tomorrow’s match, but he will try to play with caution and focus on defense against an offensive team known for its speed and strength.

              The Argentine coach is counting on a group of players, headed by UAE Al Wahda striker Omar Khribin, and Alaa Al Dali, Iraqi Naft Missan striker, in addition to a group of new players who were called up for the first time, most notably Peruvian Alianza Lima club striker Pablo Sabbagh, Swedish Haken club defender Ayham Owusu, and Malaysian club Johor Darul Tazim player Jalil Elias.

              Uzbekistan, however, want to repeat the Doha 2011 scenario, when they managed to secure fourth place as their best result in the continental tournament.

              In the last three editions, Uzbekistan succeeded in achieving victory during its opening matches,  5 victories out of 7 in the opening matches, 4 of which came with clean sheets, with the exception of the victory over Oman by two goals to one in the last edition.

              Uzbekistan are led by Slovenian coach Srecko Katanec who is returning to the Asian Cup in his third experience after coaching the UAE team in the 2011 edition, and the Iraq team in the 2019 edition, while the Uzbek team will miss the Italian Cagliari club player and his captain Eldor Shomurodov due to injury.

              Tomorrow's confrontation will be the second ever between Uzbekistan and Syria in the Asian Cup, as the latter succeeded in winning the first confrontation 2-1 in the 1996 edition, and of the 7 victories achieved by the Syrian team, it has never won more than once against any competitor. (QNA)