At 7:30 pm today, the Olympic National Football Team will play an important confrontation against its Japanese counterpart at Jassim Bin Hamad Stadium in the Qatari capital, Doha, in the second round for Group B in the 2024 Asian Cup Finals, currently being held in Qatar, which qualifies for the Olympic Games ( Paris 2024), as this match is crucial for “Al-Abyad” to maintain its chances of competing for a ticket to qualify for the next round, as a draw or loss will keep it out of the competition after the loss it suffered to South Korea, with a goal without a response in the first round.
South Korea and Japan lead the group with three points each, while “White” and its Chinese counterpart are without points so far, after losing in the first round.
The “White” task will not be easy in this match against the Japanese team that won the title of this tournament in the 2016 edition.
It is noteworthy that the last official confrontation between the two teams was in the AFC U-23 Cup, which was held in 2022, and ended with Japan winning by two goals to one.
The national team players and their technical staff are aware of the importance of today’s match, so they have no choice but to play seriously and fight on the field, in order to excel and obtain the three points.
The match also represents a new challenge for the national team’s technical staff, led by the Uruguayan coach, Marcelo Broli, to compensate for the previous loss, restore balance again, gain points in the match and enter into the competition struggle with the top Asian teams, as according to the tournament regulations, the teams that finish in the three places qualify. The first in the tournament to participate in the Olympic Games, while the fourth-place team will play against the Guinea national team in the playoff.
In the same group, the South Korean team will meet today with its Chinese counterpart, while the “Olympic White” will conclude its journey in this stage by meeting the Chinese team, next Monday, in the third and final round.
It is expected that the Olympic team will play today’s match in a way of playing that differs from the one in which it played the first match against South Korea, which was closer to defensiveness than to pressing attack, and the team lost the required harmony, which prevented it from reaching the South Korean goal, while it conceded a goal at the same time. Decisive of the match.
The team’s technical staff is seeking – in today’s match – to avoid the mistakes and negatives that accompanied the first match, as it is expected that there will be changes in the lineup and play in a balanced manner, adopting an offensive tendency, and the participation of a distinguished player such as Hareb Abdullah, in the starting lineup after he missed the match. The previous match – due to his association with his club, Shabab Al-Ahly – could make the difference for the national team.
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