What links a 39-year-old national icon, a Premier League superstar, an unheralded goal-scoring machine, a young sensation with the world at his feet, and a powerful forward leading the line for one of Europe's most storied clubs? In the middle of the first month of 2024, they all will descend into Qatar with their respective teams for the continent's flagship football tournament, the AFC Asian Cup 2023, hoping to lead them toward uncaptured glories. (More Football News)
From Sunil Chhetri to Son Heung-min, the Asian Cup will pit teams and individuals from all corners of Asia into one giant battle royale, each with a singular goal: to be crowned the champions of Asia. Starting January 12, 24 teams will partake in the competition; 16 will enter the knockout stage where, with each passing round, the crowd will continue to thin until we are left with the one true victor. Naturally, these teams will rely on the ingenuity, creativity, and grit of the players who don their shirts to carry them to triumph.
With that in mind, here are five players to watch out for at the AFC Asian Cup 2023:
1. Sunil Chhetri (India)
At 39 years old, Sunil Chhetri will be one of the oldest players in the tournament. Yet, his vivacity remains unmatched for an age by which many footballers have already hung up their boots and are resting on the well-earned laurels of their long and proud careers. Chhetri, however, will be in the mix when things kick off in Qatar, leading the Indian national football team, as he has done with grace for many years, into the battlefield.
Chhetri is not only among the most experienced players in the tournament; he is also one of the most prolific goalscorers on display. Behind only Cristiano Ronaldo and Lionel Messi in the list of active international footballers, the Indian skipper is nearing a century of goals and is, once again, likely to be the shining light of a markedly different Indian team from the one he nearly led to a knockout place in 2019.
2. Son Heung-min (Korea Republic)
Son Heung-min, without an inkling of a doubt, is the most high-profile player involved in the AFC Asian Cup 2023. Perhaps, some might say, the Korea Republic forward is the most well-known footballer the continent has produced, with his exploits in the Premier League, achieved consistently season after season for several years, putting him in the same category as the legendary Ali Daei, Keisuke Honda, and Park Ji-sung to name a few, if not above.
Decorated nationally beyond compare, Son is a bonafide superstar - a reputation well-earned, given his ability to score goals, and lots of them. The South Korean is nine short of his half-century for his national team, while his club record for Tottenham in the Premier League has surpassed the 150 mark. Goals, as such, are all but a guarantee.
3. Almoez Ali (Qatar)
The world knew little of Almoez Ali before the FIFA World Cup 2022 in Qatar and, even then, his displays at the home-based event, where Qatar were thoroughly outmatched by their opponents, offered little to enhance his image. Rewind three years, however, and one might understand why those who follow Asian football closely rave about this lanky and rapid forward, who was, at a time, even being linked with some of Europe's grandest clubs.
Ali, as it stands, is the highest-scoring player in a single edition of the AFC Asian Cup: he netted nine in Qatar's triumphant run in 2019, bagging the awards for the best player and the highest goalscorer. He later scored in the Copa America and finished as the top-scorer in the Gold Cup - two tournaments Qatar were invited to play in - becoming the only player in history to do so. Unsurprisingly, the prolific striker is his country's highest scorer and has already crossed a century in terms of international caps, despite his relatively young age.
4. Takefusa Kubo (Japan)
Few players can claim to have donned the shirts of Barcelona and Real Madrid throughout history; only one can claim to have done so from Asia. Takefusa Kubo may not have had much success during his spells with the Spanish giants, but it would not be surprising in the least if either of those two took a chance on him again down the line: such has been the nature of his performances since leaving Madrid for Real Sociedad.
Twenty-two-year-old Kubo is part of an outstanding Japan team that beat Spain and Germany at the previous FIFA World Cup, has been in sensational form, and is the favourite to win the AFC Asian Cup 2023. While the side is brimming with talent, if there is one player who can constantly get fans off their seats and have them revel in the joy of every moment he is on the ball, then that is Kubo. All eyes will be on the youngster when Japan take to the field in Qatar - and rightly so!
5. Mehdi Taremi (IR Iran)
Donning the same shirt that the great Ali Daei once wore, Mehdi Taremi, like every other Iranian football player who came after Daei, is attempting to live up to the legend's deeds. Like Daei, Taremi is a proven goalscorer, adept equally with his feet and his head, powerful with and without the ball, and bestowed with the ability to change the game on his own. The combination of those qualities have helped the striker earn a spot in the first team of one of Europe's most prestigious clubs, FC Porto, while the line of suitors vying for his services, as per rumours, includes the likes of AC Milan and Manchester United.
Taremi has scored 86 goals for FC Porto. For Iran, he has netted 45 times in 75 appearances - numbers that place him in the same conversation as Daei, if not yet in the same sentence. Come January 2023, Taremi will look to guide Iran to the Asian summit, something that even the great Ali Daei failed to do in his time!
