{"id":46269,"date":"2024-01-10T19:01:06","date_gmt":"2024-01-10T19:01:06","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/news.pakistaninewspaperlist.com\/son-to-mitoma-five-players-to-watch-at-asian-cup-the-express-tribune\/"},"modified":"2024-01-10T19:01:06","modified_gmt":"2024-01-10T19:01:06","slug":"son-to-mitoma-five-players-to-watch-at-asian-cup-the-express-tribune","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/pakistaninewspaperlist.com\/news\/son-to-mitoma-five-players-to-watch-at-asian-cup-the-express-tribune\/","title":{"rendered":"Son to Mitoma: Five players to watch at Asian Cup | The Express Tribune"},"content":{"rendered":"
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\nDOHA:
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The Asian Cup<\/a> kicks off on Friday in Qatar, the start of a month-long tournament bringing together 24 teams and the biggest stars in the region.<\/p>\n

AFP Sport picks out five players to watch:<\/p>\n

What more can be said about the South Korea and Tottenham Hotspur captain?<\/p>\n

The 31-year-old is one of the best attackers in the Premier League and has consistently been the best player in Asia for the last five years.<\/p>\n

He had an underwhelming season last year with a poor Tottenham side but like the team as a whole has been reinvigorated under new Spurs manager Ange Postecoglou, who made him captain.<\/p>\n

Son also seems to enjoy playing under legendary German striker Jurgen Klinsmann<\/a> for his country, scoring twice and setting up the other in an impressive 3-0 win in China in World Cup qualifying in November.<\/p>\n

He will hope to return to Qatar and make up for a difficult World Cup in 2022 by his standards — he failed to score in four appearances and was clearly affected by having to wear a mask for a fractured eye socket.<\/p>\n

The winger was a virtual unknown to casual football fans until delivering a series of scintillating performances last season for Brighton in the Premier League.<\/p>\n

A relatively late arrival to elite football, the 26-year-old former university student joined Brighton in 2021 from Kawasaki Frontale but then went out on loan to Union Saint-Gilloise in Belgium.<\/p>\n

Mitoma returned to Brighton in the summer of 2022 and found his feet in English football, since scoring 13 times and recording 14 assists in 65 appearances for his club.<\/p>\n

He made his debut for Japan just over two years ago and has made 18 appearances, scoring seven times, but goes into the Asian Cup with an ankle injury.<\/p>\n

Japan coach Hajime Moriyasu said in naming his squad that Mitoma should be ready “early in the tournament”, but he looks set to miss at least one game.<\/p>\n

Known as “Monster” because of his imposing physique, the Bayern Munich man is one of the best defenders around and a mainstay of the South Korean rearguard.<\/p>\n

The nickname does him a disservice in many ways — the elegant central defender is no slouch across the grass and is comfortable on the ball.<\/p>\n

The 27-year-old has had a varied career, starting out in the K League before moving to China and then Turkey.<\/p>\n

Kim left Fenerbahce for Napoli in 2022 and duly became a key player and fan favourite in their run to the Serie A title.<\/p>\n

After one season in Italy, Kim was on the move again, this time to Bayern Munich in July 2023 for a reported fee of 50 million euros.<\/p>\n

Now a regular for the serial German champions.<\/p>\n

Dawsari will have fond memories of Qatar after scoring one of the goals of the tournament at the 2022 World Cup.<\/p>\n

The attacker, who was named Asian Football Confederation player of the year in November, unleashed a right-footed thunderbolt as Saudi Arabia stunned eventual champions Argentina 2-1 in their opening game.<\/p>\n

The 32-year-old has long been one of Asia’s best players and is a stalwart for Saudi heavyweights Al Hilal.<\/p>\n

He also made one memorable appearance for Spain’s Villarreal during a 2018 loan, helping his side come back from two goals down to claim a 2-2 draw with Real Madrid.<\/p>\n

During an Asian Champions League game against Uzbekistan’s Navbahor in November he missed two penalties — before sealing a 2-0 win with a sublime lob.<\/p>\n

Iran have not won the Asian Cup since 1976 but the presence of Porto striker Taremi gives them their best chance of ending that drought.<\/p>\n

The 31-year-old has scored goals by the hatful since joining the Portuguese giants in 2020 and he has a prolific record for his country as well, also averaging a goal every other game.<\/p>\n

Taremi has not always been an easy customer for coaches to deal with — he was dropped for two games in 2022 for criticising then Iran boss Dragan Skocic.<\/p>\n

But his quality is beyond doubt and he is likely to form a razor-sharp striking partnership with Roma forward Sardar Azmoun.<\/p>\n

Taremi was close to signing for AC Milan in the summer and a strong Asian Cup could put him back in the shop window.<\/p>\n<\/div>\n