Asian Cup Matchday Review (Group Stage GW2)

Matchday two saw a return to form in terms of results for the elite nations, and while performances continued to be strong for those fighting against this, the round as a whole was predictable fair. As we head towards the final matches of the group stages; we already know the names of nine teams that will take place in the Round of 16. For the rest, have your calculators at the ready, we're in for a confusing final few days of the group stage. For now, here are my player, team and key talking point from the week just gone.

The Player

Long been touted as the breakout star of this generation of Chinese players, Wu Lei's transition from one of the CSL's finest domestic talents to international goalscorer has rarely materialised. His mercurial display against Philippines however lay down a clear marker of both China's expectations going forward in this tournament, but also the striker's hopes of living up to the vast potential he has.

It could be argued Wu Lei's two goals against Philippines have been the finest two efforts of the tournament so far; his first a quick reactionary close control then looping lob from the corner of the area, before an instinctive volley in the second half, both showed his vision and sheer ability to find the net from at best mere half-chances. His general play at the Asian Cup has been a step above his recent showings in Chinese red, his hold up play has been more effective, his initiative to drop off the central striker more calculated but generally his willingness to accept responsibility is developing. He's not alone in shouldering heavy expectations, South Korea's Son Heung-min has often struggled with such a heavy burden, but in a similar way off the back of a successful club season Wu Lei looks to be finding his place in the national team.

His explosion on the international stage comes at a timely juncture also, as his club side Shanghai SIPG have reportedly put in a bid for Austrian forward Marko Arnautovic. Wu, in a similar fashion to the West Ham United player has blossomed from a predominantly support striker into a flexible leading number 9, is starting to put his face in the window of a potential switch the other way. While Chinese football concentrates on the ever ludicrous domestic rule making, the next stage of development requires a player to shine in Europe, something Wu definitely has the potential in doing. With a group deciding tie against Korea (and a returning Son no less) on the horizon, is this the perfect encounter to prove his worth to a wider audience?

The Team

Who needs pre-tournament form? Who needs a proven goal scorer? Who needs a manager with an ounce of experience? On all counts, clearly not Jordan. I look rather foolish in my questioning of Vital Borkelmans in my Asian Cup preview series now, yet given his meager CV and the fact he dispensed of Hamza Al-Dardour on the eve of the tournament, Jordan look a better side for it. After providing the shock of the tournament to date, edging reigning champions Australia in matchday one, Jordan went on to go two-from-two in their comfortable passage against Syria in matchday two, to become the first side to progress to the knockout stages.

Their success has been down to identity, tactical shape and unity. The squad has always had quality players to call upon, but has yet to truly resemble a quality team. In the Emirates, they have a united force, both strong and committed in defence, neat and unfussy in midfield, whilst quick and maneuverable in attack. From within a squad that generally hails from the domestic league, the likes of Yaseen Al-Bakhit and Musa Al-Taamari have blossomed with their responsibilities given their pedigree away from Jordanian shores, currently the two standout players in their group stage triumph.

Looking at the side and their evolution going into the knockouts, the final match dead rubber (as far as Jordan are guaranteed top spot) will hold snippets of information crucial for their longevity, Borkelmans' set up has thrived off quick transitions and a united philosophy, so it'll be interesting to see how the rest of the squad performs once rotation starts to play it's part. Having vanquished two pre-tournament favourites for the latter stages, Jordan head into the Round of 16 fearing no one, and with a defence headed by veteran keeper Amir Shafi, a back-line that looks impenetrable to anything thus far.

The Talking Point

Hot on the heels of a competitive (if not in terms of shock results) first matchday, the second batch of matches came and went in sadly predictable fashion. In the twelve matches played, all twelve were won to zero goals conceded, with all but one seeing the nominated favourite triumph. The only tie that broke the trend - Jordan beating Syria - was hardly the most unexpected either. While this isn't a stick to beat the quality at this tournament (there were notable performances from India, Kyrgyzstan & Oman over the week), it has generated plenty of debate in the Asian football fraternity, in terms of the tournament schedule, it's capability for shocks, and whether or not we've seen a narrowing of the field or a greater disparity between the elite and the rest.

My take on the matter surrounds the organisation of the tournament, rather than it's expansion per se. As alluded to above, and in particular in matchday one the quality of football has been on the whole better than we've seen for a while, an early legacy of what was a fine qualification campaign. Out of the 24 teams in the Emirates, the two who have looked a clear distance behind the pack; Yemen and North Korea have experienced notable handicaps in the last year, surrounding coaching appointments and general infringements politically. I'd go as far as saying North Korea could've been fighting for progression, if they'd have made a wiser coaching replacement, than reverting to type as they have done for this tournament.

But that's the thing, both teams mentioned still have a crack at progressing, which in a three match group stage shouldn't be the case at this point. The expansion to 24 teams hasn't hindered the tournament in regards allowing access to developing nations, rather than it dilutes the first stage in allowing "lucky loser" spots to be granted to teams that finish third. Given the foolish scheduling, the fight for third spot at present makes for grim reading, given two teams are currently down for progression without accruing a point so far. It'll all be to play for on the last day, where the two lowest seeds of each group will in most cases be fighting for third spot.

Having such standard of teams looking to progress isn't an issue in my view, but how we got to this point (ie. most of these teams have lost two matches from two) is. Syria/Palestine in Group B, currently with the second best record of all third placed sides are in a good position to progress even if they draw their final match 0-0. Meaning they might not only make the knockout stages without winning a match, but they will without even scoring a goal. In context, considering other tournaments (U20 World Cups and Euro 2016) who deploy the same format, no team has progressed with lower than 3 points, this could indeed be an unwelcome first.

For those who cry out "elitist" at me assuming I have an agenda against those outside the top dozen in Asia, have got to remember the Asian confederation are in a tentative position of having to fight up at both ends of the spectrum. Despite a successful World Cup over the summer, the standard of the top few has been quite abject in the early stages of this Asian Cup. Watering down the group stages, in which it's harder to exit than it is to progress is not helping anyone. 

Taking Australia for example, who lost surprisingly on the opening day against Jordan. They could've again tasted defeat to Palestine this last week and still had it in their hands to progress on the final day. It's no wonder South Korea were so accepting of Son Heung-min's limited cameo, or Australia's willingness to carry injured players in their squad, if progression was a near guarantee. I ludicrously predicted months ahead of the tournament that there would be no shock exits in the group stage, despite being over-hyped going into the Asian Cup Syria look to be the only team to be threatening that argument.

Anyone that has followed my analysis of Asian football over the cycle should know I'm not against development of the so-called emerging nations, I'd even put it ahead of results throughout qualification in that regard. India and Yemen were given a second shot of qualification after both failed miserably in the second round of qualification, and just look at the improvement that was made. But for the AFC to give the same second chance opportunities in the continental showpiece looks to devalue their primary product on a larger scale. By how much, is something to dissect upon the tournament's culmination, but for now let's hope for some long overdue do-or-die action in the final set of matches, something we've been severely lacking so far.