The host team of the 2023 Asian Cup, Qatar, unexpectedly fired veteran coach Carlos Queiroz and appointed Spanish coach Marquez Lopez to lead the team towards the goal of defending the championship won for the first time in 2019. The Lebanese team, Qatar's opponent in the opening match, also replaced coach Nikola Jurcevic (resigned) with Mr. Miodrag Radulovic.
Home team Qatar unexpectedly fired coach Carlos Queiroz and appointed coach Marquez Lopez as his replacement.
In Group F, the Thai team also replaced coach Mano Polking with Japanese coach Masatada Ishii with a decision just announced recently. Coach Masatada Ishii will lead the Thai team at the 2023 Asian Cup and the 2026 World Cup qualifiers in Asia. The friendly match between the Thai team and Japan on January 1, 2024 in Tokyo will be the debut match of coach Masatada Ishii.
The Chinese and Indian teams also prepared early for the 2023 Asian Cup by announcing the list of players competing in the finals. The Chinese team announced 26 players, while the Indian team and many other teams, including the Vietnamese team, sent a preliminary list of 50 players to the Asian Football Confederation (AFC).
The Korean team is aiming to win the Asian Cup for the third time when the official list will be announced at the end of December. The Korean team previously won the Asian Cup twice in 1956 and 1960. Big Korean football stars playing in Europe such as Son Heung-min, Hwang Hee-chan, Lee Kang-in... are all sure to be called up to conquer the goal of winning the 2023 Asian Cup.
Son Heung-min's participation in Asian Cup 2023 makes Tottenham club worried
Injury concerns
Two stars, Sardar Azmoun of the Iranian team and Mathew Ryan of the Australian team, may say goodbye to the 2023 Asian Cup due to injury.
Azmoun suffered a calf injury after coming on as a substitute in the match between AS Roma and Fiorentina in Serie A (Italy) last weekend. Meanwhile, Mathew Ryan was injured in training, AZ Alkmaar (Netherlands) has not yet determined the return date of this star because he has to undergo surgery and will be out for several weeks.
Other top Asian football stars such as Almoez Ali of Qatar and Ali Mabkhout of UAE are certain to participate in the 2023 Asian Cup. These are also two stars who promise to compete for the top scorer award. At the 2019 Asian Cup, Almoez Ali scored 9 goals, while Ali Mabkhout scored 4 goals, he also scored 5 goals at the 2015 Asian Cup.
Tickets are selling fast.
Host Qatar expects fans to fill stadiums like at the 2022 World Cup
According to the announcement of the host country Qatar, tickets for the two opening matches between Qatar and Lebanon (11pm on January 12, 2024) and Australia and India (6:30pm on January 13, 2024) have been sold out.
At the 2023 Asian Cup, the organizing committee announced the prices of 3 types of tickets including 25 riyals (Qatari currency), 40 riyals and 60 riyals, equivalent to about 166,000 VND, 266,000 VND and 400,000 VND. These are ticket prices suitable for fans across Asia coming to Qatar to watch matches at the 2023 Asian Cup Finals.
Tickets for Vietnam's opening match in Group D against Japan at 6:30 p.m. on January 14, 2024 at Al Thumama Stadium in Doha are still on sale, but there are very few tickets left, according to AFC. AFC also said that each person can only buy a maximum of 10 tickets for one match. Tickets for Vietnam's next matches against Indonesia and Iraq are also sold at the same price.
To prepare for the 2023 Asian Cup, the Vietnamese team will have a friendly match against Kyrgyzstan on January 9, 2024 in Qatar.
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