AFC Asian Cup: UAE vs Hong Kong Preview, Head-To-Head, Lineup, Live Streaming and Telecast

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AFC Asian Cup, UAE vs Hong Kong: Title pretenders UAE will start their AFC Asian Cup 2023 campaign on Sunday (January 14) when they take on World No. 150 Hong Kong in the opening Group C match at Khalifa International Stadium in Al Rayyan.

UAE (ranked 66th) and Hong Kong are clubbed in Group C with Iran and Palestine, who face off later at night in the same city at another venue. UAE's best finish at the AFC Asian Cup was finishing runners-up in 1996 as hosts.

Match: UAE vs Hong Kong
Kick-off time: 8:30 PM local time; 9:30 AM (Dubai); 1:30 AM (Hong Kong)
Location: Al Rayyan
Stadium: Khalifa International Stadium
Capacity: 45,857
Date: January 14, 2024

UAE vs Hong Kong: Head-to-Head Record

This will be the third encounter between UAE and Hong Kong at the senior level with their latest encounter coming back in 2013 during the AFC Asian Cup Qualifiers. The two home-away ties were played in space of one month and UAE won both games 4-0.

Matches Played in all competitions: 2
Hong Kong Win: 0
UAE Win: 2
Draws: 0
Hong Kong Goals: 0
UAE Goals: 8

UAE vs Hong Kong Preview

The UAE could be one of the dark horses at this year's Asian Cup, which is being held right outside their own borders. They took home a bronze medal in this competition in 2015 and placed fourth in 2019.

In a friendly warm-up match last week, Al-Abyad, the hosts of this competition in 2019, lost to Oman by a close 1-0 score, with Abdullah Fawaz scoring the game's only goal in the fifth minute. Paulo Bento, a former Portugal international, left the Taegeuk Warriors following the 2022 World Cup after leading South Korea to the semifinals. He then took up the position of head coach for the UAE in July.

Given that they are not just the lowest-ranked club in Group C but the lowest-ranked team in the overall competition this year, Hong Kong have a steep hill to climb, disregarding the fact that they finished third in the AFC Asian Cup back in 1956.

Hong Kong, captained by former Norway international Jorn Andersen, qualified for the Asian Cup after fending off Afghanistan and Cambodia and placing second behind India in the third qualifying round. His team has only won one of their past six games across all tournaments, and they have lost their last two warm-up games against Saudi Arabia and Tajikistan. Nevertheless, preparations for this competition did not go well.

UAE vs Hong Kong: Predicted Lineup

UAE: Khalid Eisa (GK); Zayed Sultan, Ali Salmin, Khalid Al-Hashemi, Abdullah Ramadan; Fabio Lima, Majid Rashid, Abdulla Hamad, Caio Canedo, Yahya Al Hammadi; Ali Mabkhout. Manager: Paulo Bento

Hong Kong: Yapp Hung Fai (captain); Law Tsz Chun, Oliver Gerbig, Vas Nunez, Sun Ming Him; Lam Hin Ting, Chan Siu Kwang, Tan Chun Lok, Everton Camargo, Matt Orr; Michael Udebuluzor

UAE vs Hong Kong: Live Streaming and Telecast
Abu Dhabi Media (UAE); HOY TV (Hong Kong)