Group D action at the Asian Cup will come to an end on Wednesday as Iraq take on Vietnam at Jassim Bin Hamad Stadium.

The Iraqis booked their place in the knockout stage with a stunning 2-1 victory over Japan on matchday two, while the Golden Star Warriors were officially eliminated after suffering a 1-0 defeat versus Indonesia.

Match preview

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After a performance that manager Jesus Casas said was near perfect last week, Iraq are in a position to win their group at the Asian Cup for the first time since 2007.

To achieve that, all they need to do is avoid defeat on matchday three, which would extend their unbeaten run in the group stage of this tournament to seven matches.

As expected, Japan had the bulk of the possession against Iraq on matchday two, with 73% altogether, but the Lions of Mesopotamia were there to block them at virtually every turn, keeping the top-ranked Asian side off the scoresheet until second-half stoppage time.

Holding a side like Japan to a mere two efforts on target is quite an achievement, seeing as the record four-time winners of this competition had netted four or more goals in each of their five previous matches before Friday.

With a victory on Wednesday, Iraq will do something they have never been able to do in any of their previous Asian Cup appearances, end the group stage with a 100% record.

Iraq have never lost to Vietnam in five previous meetings, winning three consecutive matchups against them, most recently in 2026 World Cup qualifying last November (1-0).

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Entering this tournament with plenty of promise, Vietnam will exit the Asian Cup group phase with only pride to play for on Wednesday.

It has been a rough year for Philippe Troussier's men, who have lost all three of their 2024 fixtures and will not advance into the knockout portion of this tournament for the first time in three appearances this century.

The Golden Star Warriors have not ended a campaign at the Asian Cup finals without a point since 1960, a run that will end should they fail to defeat or draw Iraq.

Vietnam have been going in the wrong direction for a while now, losing seven of their last eight matches in all competitions, failing to score in five of those fixtures.

They have conceded a combined five goals in their two group games this time around, tied with Malaysia and Palestine for the most among sides in the group phase of this tournament.

While they have never beaten Iraq in a competitive fixture, some of their most recent encounters against them have been there for the taking, with Vietnam conceding a stoppage-time winner to them last November (1-0) while squandering a 2-1 second-half advantage in the 2019 Asian Cup group stage, losing 3-2.

Team News

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On matchday two, Jalal Hassan, Hussein Ali, Saad Natiq, Amir Al-Ammari, Ibrahim Bayesh and Ali Jasim were the only players to keep their place in the Iraqi starting 11.

Bayesh is one appearance away from 50, Mohanad Ali is seven short of that same milestone, while Ali Adnan needs seven more caps to reach 100 after coming on for Youssef Amyn in their match against Japan.

Aymen Hussein has three goals in his last two games, and his brace on matchday two enabled Iraq to edge the Japanese, putting him in a tie with Akram Afif for the most goals at this tournament.

Le Pham Thanh Long, who came on for Nguyen Thai Son at the start of the second half on Friday, will be suspended for this encounter after the Vietnam midfielder received two cautions in the final seven minutes plus stoppage time of that encounter.

Troussier made two changes to his starting 11 on matchday two, with Nguyen Quang Hai and Nguyen Van Tung replacing Nguyen Dinh Bac and captain Do Hung Dung.

Nguyen Van Toan can reach 60 caps with the national team on Wednesday, while Nguyen Tuan Anh and Vu Van Thanh are seven and four caps away from 50, respectively.

Iraq possible starting lineup:
Hassan; Tahseen, Natiq, Sulaka, Adnan; Allee, Al-Ammari; Amyn, Bayesh, Iqbal; M. Ali

Vietnam possible starting lineup:
Filip; Manh, B. Anh, Trong; Thanh, Son, N. Anh, Khang; N. Hai, Dung; Tung

We say: Iraq 1-0 Vietnam

Vietnam are in a slump, while their upcoming opponents are on a roll and riding high after what they achieved on matchday two, and we expect to see Iraq maintain that momentum and win comfortably on Wednesday.

For data analysis of the most likely results, scorelines and more for this match please click here.

Written by
Joel Lefevre

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