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.
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).
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
