The Japanese will start the tournament as favourites with the decision to retain Hajime Moriyasu ensuring coaching continuity at the Samurai Blue. Moriyasu, looking to become the first man to win the Asian title both as a player and a coach, masterminded impressive wins over Spain and Germany at the World Cup and oversaw a 4-1 thrashing of the Germans in a friendly in September. Juergen Klinsmann has made no secret of his desire to end South Korea's 64-year Asian Cup title drought and the German World Cup winner will look to captain Son Heung-min to fire his side's challenge.
