Tonight sees the start of the Asian Cup 2011 quarter-finals with host nation Qatar taking on one of the tournament favourites Japan.
The other quarterfinal matches are:
Iran vs South Korea
Uzbekistan vs Jordan
Australia vs Iraq
I think that Japan will have far too much quality across the park for Qatar and this will see the Blue Samurais proceeding through to the semi-finals where I would expect them to meet South Korea in a close encounter.
The other semi-finals should see Australia take on Uzbekistan at the Khalifa Stadium where Australia has yet to play in this tournament and which would be far more familiar surroundings for the Uzbeks.
My prediction for the final would be a Japan-Australia encounter although Australia would have to improve on their performance again Bahrain if they are to get past Uzbekistan in the semis.
