Asian Cup: All to play for as quarter-finals begin today

Muscat: Three countries from the Middle East and four from South East Asia and the Far East will contest for a place in the semi-finals of the 2019 Asian Cup, which is currently underway in the United Arab Emirates.
Vietnam will face four-time champions Japan in the first semi-final to take place at 5:00 pm GST on Thursday evening, with China taking on Iran – who beat Oman 2-0 in the Round of 16 – later in the evening at 8:00 pm.
The Japanese won the tournament on home soil in 1992, and have since gone on to win it in 2000 (Lebanon), 2004 (China), and 2011 (Qatar). They also finished fourth in 2007, when the tournament was jointly held in Indonesia, Vietnam, Thailand, and Malaysia.
On Friday, favourites South Korea will play Qatar, the hosts of the next FIFA World Cup at 5:00 pm, three hours before the UAE take on Australia, who are the current AFC Asian Cup champions.
While the Japanese are the most successful Asian Cup-winning side, the Iranians have also won it on three occasions (1968, 1972 and 1976), and the South Koreans have taken the cup on two others – 1956 and 1960. The UAE finished runners-up in 1996.