An overseas betting company pointed to its “forever rival” Japan as the No. 1 probability of winning the Qatar Asian Cup. According to the Japanese soccer media Football Zone on the 6th, the overseas betting media Legal Bet revealed the probability of winning the top six Qatar Asian Cup in 2023.
Japan received 3.4 times the odds of winning the championship. Legal Bet said, “It’s not surprising to pick Japan as the No. 1 winner,” citing the fact that a number of players from major European leagues have been selected by the Japanese national team. Kaoru Mitoma (Brighton) and Takefusa Kubo (Real Sociedad) are injured, but the team is in good condition, introducing the fact that they are winning nine consecutive A matches. In betting, the lower the dividend rate, the higher the chance of winning the championship.
Korea ranked second with 5.5 times the number. While mentioning the existence of “high-level” players such as Son Heung-min (Tottenham Hotspur) and Kim Min-jae (Bayern Munich) who belong to big European clubs, Korea is expected to lose to Japan. Korea was followed by Australia (7.5 times), the Middle East traditional powerhouse (7.5 times), Saudi Arabia (eight times), and Qatar (nine times), the defending champion and host. After all, betting companies are also predicting a two-way race between Japan and Korea.
Korea, led by coach Jurgen Klinsmann, aims to win its third championship in 64 years since the 1960 event. Team Korea, which won 1-0 in the last friendly match against Iraq in Abu Dhabi, the United Arab Emirates on Wednesday, will enter Qatar on Wednesday, the land of opportunity. 안전놀이터
Japan, which holds the record for the most wins in its career, is aiming for its fifth career championship in 13 years since 2011. If Korea and Japan rank first in each group league, they will not meet until the final. “We hope to meet Japan in the final,” said Klinsmann, who admitted in August that Japan is ahead of Korea in terms of power performance. Japanese coach Hajime Moriyasu also picked Korea as one of his rivals for the championship. The Asian Cup, in which 24 countries participate, will open on Feb. 12 and run until Feb. 10.