#Record My 2024#
Match 1: Australia vs Indonesia
Match analysis: This is Indonesia's first appearance in the knockout stages of the Asian Cup, where they will face Australia for a place in the quarter-finals.
After a 1-1 draw with Uzbekistan on matchday three, Australia qualified as top of Group B, while Indonesia secured third place in the group despite losing 2-1 to Japan in their previous fixture.
It was a solid group stage for Australia, who extended their unbeaten run to five games in the group stage, while they are now seven games unbeaten in all competitions.
In the first game, Australia created plenty of chances, winning 39 times in the opposition half, the most in this tournament.
Uzbek winger Tu Ergonboyev's 78th-minute goal ended Australia's 609-minute clean sheet in all competitions and set a new record for Australia.
In the group stage, Australia were organised at the back and were very effective in possession, averaging 62.3 per cent possession and topping the game in games where they made 10 or more consecutive passes.
Despite Australia's excellent performance in the first three games, the team will need to be sharper in the knockout stages than they were four years ago, but Australia have failed to score in the round of 16 and quarter-finals.
Australia have never conceded more than one goal in the knockout stages of the Asian Cup, and have only lost once in a single knockout game of the Asian Cup (1-0 defeat to the UAE in 2019).
Indonesia had an anxious Thursday as they were knocked out within 10 minutes, but Kyrgyzstan equalised late to level their match with Oman 1-1.
The result erased the disappointment that the team was comfortably beaten by Japan in the third game, which was Indonesia's fifth defeat in the last six matches.
In the end, though, the most important thing was Indonesia's 1-0 win over Vietnam in the second match, which was the first time Indonesia had conceded a clean sheet in an official event since last October (6-0 thrashing Brunei).
The match will be the first official knockout match for Indonesia since the 2022 ASEAN Football Confederation Championship, losing 2-0 on aggregate after a 0-0 draw with Vietnam in the semi-finals.
Indonesia are winless in their last 8 matches, failing to score in 7 of them.
For the Indonesian team, reaching this stage of the knockout stage of the Asian Cup is an important step forward, but it seems that they are at a disadvantage in this game.
And the Indonesian team's defense is too shaky for Indonesia to contain a balanced Australian team.
Score Prediction:
Look for Australia to win 2-0 3-0 3-1
Match 2: Tajikistan vs United Arab Emirates
Match Analysis: With a place to qualify for the quarter-finals of the Asian Cup, Tajikistan will take on the United Arab Emirates.
In the third match four, Tajikistan won a dramatic 2-1 victory over Lebanon to secure second place in Group A, while the UAE lost 2-1 to Iran but still narrowly beat Palestine on goal difference.
Facing a Lebanese side with a lot of support, Tajikistan turned the tide in the tournament and claimed their first victory in the Asian Cup.
Tajikistan's first two goals in the history of the Asian Cup were scored in the last 10 minutes plus stoppage time to take the tally to four.
This is the first time that Tajikistan has stepped out of the group stage in any competition, following the 2019 Hero Intercontinental Cup runners-up.
Although Tajikistan has been behind in consecutive competitions in this Asian Cup, Tajikistan have been able to keep the score close, with five of the previous six official matches having been scored by one goal or less.
This match will be the third meeting between Tajikistan and the UAE, which ended with a 0-0 draw in March last year and a 3-2 defeat to the UAE in a friendly in 2020.
The UAE were slightly behind in the final game of the group stage, but other scores gave the UAE what they wanted, and in the end the UAE narrowly finished second by one goal.
While the UAE have only four points, their fewest points in the group stage since 2011, it is the first time the UAE has qualified for the round of 16 three times in a row.
This match will be the third time that the UAE will participate in the round of 16 of the Asian Cup, having qualified twice in 2015 and 2016.
The UAE had lost two games in a row in the group stage of the Gulf Cup in January 2023.
Tajikistan has nothing to lose at the moment, but that is not the case for the UAE, which has an unfinished business, having fallen to the penultimate level in the last two Asian Cups.
And with recent form and Tajikistan's resilience against an experienced side in the Asian Cup, Tajikistan will keep a cool head and pull off an upset when they need it most.
Score Prediction:
Look for a draw 0-0 1-1 2-2
Tajikistan won the penalty shootout and eliminated the UAE.