KVSP 
The Asian Cup has brought its fair share of drama so far since kicking off, but the quarterfinals are providing a matchup fit to be a final as two of the most successful teams in the tournament’s history, Iran and Japan, will square off for a spot in the semifinals. Iran had to survive quite a scare to get here, withstanding a Mehdi Taremi red card to win a penalty shootout over Syria, while Japan defeated Bahrain with relative ease, but their tournament run so far has been anything but easy.
Here’s our storylines, how you can watch the match and more:
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How to watch and odds
- Date: Saturday, Feb. 3 | Time: 6:30 a.m. ET
- Location: Education City Stadium — Al Rayyan, Qatar
- Live stream: CBS Sports Golazo and Paramount+
- Odds: Iran +340; Draw +220; Japan -117
Storylines
Iran: Without Taremi leading the line, Iran will need to look to other options for goals but based on their tournament so far, that shouldn’t be an issue. Taremi has three goals so far in the Asian Cup but overall, five different players have scored for Iran so far. Sardar Azmoun will be a player to watch in attack as he’s the most likely name to pick up for Taremi as the entire side has already proven that they can take penalties with ease.
Japan: Yet to keep a clean sheet in the tournament, Japan’s defense has been shaky, especially with Zion Suzuki in net. While it’s only natural for the 21-year-old to have growing pains during his first major tournament in control of the defense, the Iran attack brings a threat unlike any that Japan has faced so far in this tournament. If Japan can’t score multiple goals, they won’t be able to advance in this one.
Prediction
Goals goals and more goals are the name of the game as Iran and Japan will kick off the day with quite an end to end game of soccer. Japan will prove to have more quality in the end but their defense remains a concern as the tournament continues. Pick: Iran 2, Japan 4
