A remarkable phenomenon is often noticeable when watching soccer games. Even when a player who shines outstandingly appears, the Underdog team sometimes goes ‘defeated.’ Best Eleven collaborates with Team Twelve’s data analysis service Alpha Ball to analyze this phenomenon as data. It is ‘11.5 Lab’ where Eleven (11) and Twelve (12) met. Team leader Kim Dong-hyun (kimdh@team12.co.kr ) and reporter Cho Young-hoon wrote it together.

The opening of the 2023 AFC Qatar Asian Cup is only two days away. The South Korean national team, led by coach Jürgen Klinsmann, will start its long journey with the first group match against Bahrain, which will take place at 8:30 p.m. on Saturday. The goal is to win, but the route will not be smooth. We looked into potential opponents that South Korea can meet at the tournament.

The Republic of Korea was assigned to Group E. Compared to other groups, the teams they face are tricky, but the top spot in the group seems promising. In the case of Group E, regardless of the first and second places, they face the first and second places in the other group. If they rank first, they will meet the second place in Group D, and if they move up to the second place, they will meet the first place in Group F. They are unlucky compared to the first place in other groups, which face higher teams in grade order among the third places.

Assuming first place in the group, it is depicted meeting Iraq in the round of 16, Iran in the quarterfinals, Uzbekistan in the semi-finals, and Japan in the final.

The Asian Cup match against Iraq, which is expected to bring the team to the round of 16, is one win and two draws. As the team lost both draws through penalty shootouts, it effectively lost. In 2015, the team most recently won the semifinals 2-0.

Korea’s worst relationship at the Asian Cup is Iran. Korea met a total of seven times. Notably, the two teams have met in the quarterfinals five times since 1996. It is cruel that the two most promising contenders continue to meet in the quarterfinals. This record is expected to increase to six times now. Both teams are highly likely to win the group. Korea’s past matches at the Asian Cup against Iran are three wins, one draw (one penalty shootout) and three losses.

It is expected that the semifinals will be easier if it exceeds the quarterfinals. The expected opponent, Uzbekistan, met twice and we won both

After advancing to the final, Japan, its fateful rival, will wait unless something unexpected happens. The scheduled date of the game is also the day of the Lunar New Year, so there will be a lot of interest. There was no defeat during the game with a total of one win and two draws in the meeting with Japan. However, in 2011, they unfortunately lost in the penalty shootout at the final stage.

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