Both sides are currently locked on three points from two games, three adrift of leaders Iraq, who have already sealed their place in the last-16 stage.
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A place in the knockout stage of the AFC Asian Cup will be at stake as Japan take on Indonesia in their final Group D fixture at Al Thumama Stadium on Wednesday. Both sides are currently locked on three points from two games, three adrift of leaders Iraq, who have already sealed their place in the last-16 stage, while Vietnam are sitting at the bottom, yet to open their account. Samurai Blue suffered a surprise 2-1 defeat to Lions of Mestopotamia on matchday two last week, while Team Garuda edged past Golden State Warriors 1-0 on Friday.
Today’s Round 3 matches 🔥
Group D ⏰ 2:30pm
🇮🇶 🆚 🇻🇳
🇯🇵 🆚 🇮🇩What are your predictions? ✍🏼#AsianCup2023 #HayyaAsia pic.twitter.com/kYcmnXtfka
— AFC Asian Cup Qatar 2023 (@Qatar2023en) January 24, 2024
Arguably the best performing AFC nation in the last two years, Japan, were humbled by Iraq on Friday, ending a 11-match unbeaten run in all competitions. Samurai Blue conceded twice in the first-half courtesy of Aymen Hussein’s brace, while Wataru Endo’s 93rd-minute effort proved to be just a consolation goal. It was their first defeat since March 2023 (2-1 loss to Colombia). Nevertheless, Hajime Moriyasu’s men have a +1 goal-difference having defeated Vietnam 4-2 in their opening fixture of the tournament ten days ago. Japan have finished at the top of their group in eight successive AFC Asian Cup group stages, but that run will end if Iraq avoid a defeat versus Golden Star Warriors in their final group fixture on Wednesday.
Indonesia, on the other hand, secured their first victory in the group stage of the competition since 2007, putting them in a strong position to advance to the knockout stage. After losing their opening fixture 3-1 versus Iraq, the Red and White secured a hard-fought victory against Vietnam on Friday, courtesy of Asnawi Mangkualam’s lone goal from the penalty spot three minutes before the break. The result ended their four-game losing streak. Meanwhile, a victory in the mid-week will guarantee Tim Garuda a place in the last-16 stage for the first time.
Japan probable starting lineup: Maekawa, Sugawara, Itakura, Tomiyasu, H. Ito, Endo, Hatate, J. Ito, Kubo, Minamino, Ueda
Indonesia probable starting lineup: Ari, Mangkualam, Walsh, Prasetyo, Hubner, Arhan, Sayuri, Jenner, Ferdinan, Sulaeman, Struick
Japan
| Opponents | Score |
| Iraq | 2-1 (L) |
| Vietnam | 4-2 (W) |
| Jordan | 6-1 (W) |
| Thailand | 5-0 (W) |
| Syria | 0-5 (W) |
Indonesia
| Opponents | Score |
| Vietnam | 0-1 (W) |
| Iraq | 1-3 (L) |
| Iran | 0-5 (L) |
| Libya | 1-2 (L) |
| Libya | 0-4 (L) |
| Last 5 match-results | Score |
| Japan beat Indonesia | 5-0 |
| Indonesia draw Japan | 0-0 |
The AFC Asian Cup fixture between Japan and Indonesia will take place at Al Thumama Stadium on Wednesday at 5:00 pm IST.
| Japan vs Indonesia | Key Details |
| Date | January 24 |
| Venue | Al Thumama Stadium |
| Kickoff time in Japan | 8:30 pm |
| Kickoff time in Indonesia | 6:30 pm |
| Kickoff time in Qatar | 2:30 pm |
| Kickoff time in India | 5:00 pm |
The live telecast of the AFC Asian Cup matches in India will be available on Sports 18 network. Besides, football fans in India can also live stream the game through Jio Cinema. Meanwhile, those in Japan can watch the match on TV Asahi and DAZN Japan. Football fans in Indonesia can catch the live action via K-Vision, Vision +, MNC Soccer Channel and RCTI network.
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