Syria

This will be the seventh time Syria have qualified for the Asian Cup. They have never made it out the group stages.

What to expect

The Asian Cup experiences of 1980, 1984, 1988 1996, 2011 and 2019 do not bode well for 2023 but then seven is a lucky number.

The team is currently banned by  from playing at home, and have not hosted a game since December 2010. Even so, they have still performed at the top end of Asian rankings though have established themselves very firmly as the ‘nearly’ men.

At the 2019 Asian Cup in  the United Arab Emirates, Syria under the leadership of then-head coach Bernd Stange opened with a 0–0 draw against Palestine lost to Australia 3-2. They could have easily won both games with a little more luck. They lost their final game to Jordan 2-0.

They will meet Australia again in group play in Qatar where they are also drawn with Uzbekistan and India.

Their form coming into the Qatar finals is patchy. In November they beat North Korea in world Cup qualifying but were hammered 5-0 by Japan.

In their two warm-up games this January they showed more encouraging development drawing with both Krygzstan and Malaysia. Even so, qualification from their group at the seventh time of asking looks like being tough.   

Star player

Striker Omar Khribin plays his football in the UAE for Al Wahda but is currently on loan at Shabab Al Ahli. For his country he has scored 23 goals in 51 games. For Al Wahda he has scored 32 times in 46 appearances. If Syria are to progress his goals will be vital. Without them it is hard to see where they will come from with the rest of the squad only having managed seven between them.

In 2017, Khribin became the first Syrian ever to win the Asian Footballer of the Year. But that was six years ago.

Manager

Argentinean Hector Cuper took over the team in February 2023.

As a player he spent almost his whole career (463 games) in Argentina at Club Ferro Carril Oeste.

As a manager at club level saw success with Spain’s Mallorca, reaching the Copa del Rey final in 1998 and the final of the UEFA Cup Winners Cup the same year. He also coached at Valencia and Inter Milan.

At international level he has coached Georgia, Egypt, Uzbekistan and DR Congo. With Egypt he went to both the 2017 African Cup of Nations and the 2018 World Cup.

He has the pedigree to achieve big wins for ‘smaller’ teams, but the question is whether he has enough in his squad to get them over that Group stage block.

Schedule

Uzbekistan vs Syria, January 13, Jassim bin Hamad Stadium, 8.30pm

Syria vs Australia, January 18, Jassim bin Hamad Stadium, 2.30pm

Syria vs India, January 23, Al Bayt Stadium, 2.30pm

Squad