All eyes on UAE 2019
January’s Asian Cup is new target for World Cup teams
The World Cup may be over but Asia’s representatives started preparing for January’s Asian Cup as soon as they returned home from Russia. And of the five teams involved this summer, only two can say with any confidence that they will have the same coach in charge when proceedings in the United Arab Emirates get underway.
Japan and Australia have already made the change. The former were the best of the continent’s quintet in Russia and the only one to progress to the knockout stage, albeit by the narrowest of possible margins having received fewer yellow cards than Senegal.
Japan played some excellent football once in the last 16, only to lose 3-2 to Belgium in the last seconds, and were so impressive that there were calls for caretaker boss Akira Nishino, who replaced Vahid Halilhodzic in April, to stay on.
Nishino nevertheless stepped down at the end of July and, despite reports of Arsene Wenger returning 22 years after leaving Nagoya, the Japan Football Association wanted to keep local hands on the helm and appointed Hajime Moriyasu.
The 49-year-old was the prime local candidate and was not only assistant to Nishino in Russia but is also in charge of the under-23 team that is preparing for the 2020 Olympics in Tokyo.
Moriyasu may have been dismissed by Sanfrecce Hiroshima in 2017 amid fears of relegation but his stock was still high after delivering three J.League titles for the club between 2012 and 2015.
As well as his domestic success, Moriyasu’s appeal comes with being in charge of the younger team. With stalwarts such as Keisuke Honda and Makoto Hasebe stepping down from international duty, there will be opportunities for players to graduate upwards.
In Australia, Graham Arnold had known for some time that he would be taking over the national team. Bert Van Marwijk was appointed in February to take over from Ange Postecoglou just until the end of the World Cup, where the Socceroos managed only a single point.
Arnold struggled in his first spell in charge of the national team, having succeeded the very successful Guus Hiddink in 2006. But since a failure at the 2007 Asian Cup and his exit, Arnold has developed his reputation at home by making Sydney the best team in the A-League.
However, while Sydney have looked very good in Australia, they have performed less well in the Asian Champions League, and Arnold’s short spell in charge of Japanese club Vegalta Sendai in 2014 did not go well either, so questions about his ability to deliver results in Asia remain.
The pressure will be on in January and, for better or worse, the current team does not have the stars of a decade ago. Tim Cahill, the last of the golden generation, announced his retirement after Russia but there should be enough in the defending continental champions for Arnold to work with.
Saudi Arabia, not usually a bastion of coaching stability, handed coach Juan Antonio Pizzi an extension up to the Asian Cup. The Argentinian, who took the job in November, was in real danger after the 5-0 thrashing by the hosts in the World Cup’s opening match and Saudi journalists sitting in the post-match press conference speculated whether he would survive to the next game. He did and tightened things up to lose 1-0 to Uruguay and then beat Egypt in their final fixture.
Pizzi has been trying to introduce a more attackminded approach to a team that had become pragmatic under previous boss Van Marwijk. The World Cup came too soon for that, but there is more time and perhaps lesser opposition for the Asian Cup for Pizzi, who arrived in Russia after just seven months in charge, to shine.
Carlos Queiroz has been in charge of Iran for seven years and the team received a warm welcome on their to Tehran after a best-ever World Cup haul of four points – which was very nearly enough to get out of a tough group containing Spain, Portugal and Morocco. The former Real Madrid boss has always had a fractious relationship with a federation that tolerates his barbs as long as he gets results. Queiroz is likely to stay on until January as Iran chase a first title since the 1970s.
South Korea’s continental drought goes back to a decade before that. A momentous win over Germany in Kazan was not enough to disguise the disappointment of an early exit. Coach Shin Tae-yong was told that if he wanted a new contract he would be evaluated against foreign candidates.
As August arrived it was not looking good as his Russian performance was given low marks by the Korea FA. A new man could be in place for the friendlies in September, when preparations for the Asian Cup start in earnest.