Bahrain vs Japan – AFC Asian Cup 1/8 finals | Date: Wednesday, 31 January 2024 | Kick-off: 12:30 CET | Venue: Al Thumama Stadium (ad-Dōha (Doha))
The AFC Asian Cup predictions below for the Bahrain vs Japan match were made by Bookmaker Ratings.
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Many of you will say that Bahrain were lucky to secure the first spot in the group, as South Korea dropped unexpected points against Malaysia and Jordan.
It is fair to say there is something there.
Bahrain scored three goals and conceded three in the group stage. Quite notably, though, was that all three goals were conceded in the match against South Korea, while Bahrain registered two narrow victories against “tiny” teams (both 1:0).
Meanwhile, Japan are still considered the main favourite of the tournament.
Interestingly, they failed to keep a clean sheet each in their three group-stage games so far. The Blue Samurais will want to improve their team’s defensive performance.
Japan players should be able to eke out a narrow win.
We predict that Japan will beat Bahrain.
Prediction: Japan to win 2:1
Japan’s national team have had two victories in this Asian Cup so far. In both cases, the Blue Samurais won the matches by a two-goal margin.
We expect them to repeat the same scenario against Bahrain.
Betting Tip: Japan goals handicap -1.5
Bahrain and Japan will meet in the Asian Cup 2023 1/8 finals match.
Bahrain kicked off the tournament with a defeat against South Korea, but they managed to bounce back in the next two games against Jordan and Malaysia and secure the first spot ahead of South Korea in Group E
Meanwhile, the Japan national team, which had a great performance during the World Cup 2022, failed to clinch the first spot in Group D.
The decisive factor was an unexpected defeat against Iraq in the second round (1:2). However, the victories over Indonesia and Vietnam were enough to reach the next round.
Bahrain: Lutfala; Mohamed, Baqer, Al Hayam, Al-Khalasi, Shaikh, Al Hardan, Marhoon, Al Aswad, Mada, Yusuf
Japan: Suzuki; Sugawara, Itakura, Taniguchi, Ito, Morita, Endo, Nakamura, Minamino, Ito, Hosoya
TV Channel: DAZN