Saudi Arabia qualified for the Round of 16 at the top of Group F, although they could only draw 0-0 with Thailand in their last match.
Aidashari is the core of the team's offense, but the team has been lacking in goal control for a long time in the group stage. Strikers Ebrahim and Eshuhi have yet to score a goal, so I expect them to try their best to score a goal this time. Mohamed Jannou will also have to play an important role in reducing the space for South Korea to make breakthroughs, as well as delivering the ball to the front line in the attack to spur Saudi Arabia's attack.
South Korea conceded a goal at the end of extra time against Malaysia in the last round of the group stage, resulting in a 3-3 draw, and could only qualify for the knockout stage at the second place of the group. In the match against Malaysia, Taiji Tigers failed to control the game after Jung Eui-young opened the scoring, which is definitely a problem, and the quality of the last kick handling, especially the transmission from the side, also needs to be improved. South Korea will have to be careful with Aidah Shahri as he can also create chances from the wing. Son Heung-min has the ability to pull Saudi Arabia's defenders out of their positions, and I'd like to see Lee Kang-in and Lee Jae-seong utilize the width of the pitch to create openings in the middle of the pitch.
South Korea will be focusing on improving the problems they had against Malaysia, Lee Kang-in is in great form and is a threat on free kicks. I feel that Saudi Arabia will struggle to keep their defense solid throughout the game and I expect the Tigers to win this one.
In the other Round of 16 match on the same day, Uzbekistan has 1 win and 2 draws in this year's AFC Asian Cup group stage, including a 1-1 draw with Australia in the last round, and finally qualified for the Round of 16 at the second place in Group B. Uzbekistan looked a bit slow in defense and lacked goal control in the group stage, but I think they have achieved their expectation to qualify in the second place. Fischlaff will try to force Thailand into a defensive position and will try to create openings and chances between the opposing pair of players and the center of the pitch.
Thailand also qualified for the knockout stages of the tournament with 5 points in Group F. They drew 0-0 with Saudi Arabia in the final round of the group stage. They once again played a tight 5-4-1 with multiple defenders in the match, and although they were unable to increase their attacking power on the counter-attack, the fact that they were able to deliver a good defensive performance throughout the match will give them encouragement heading into this match. Chatardy scored the only two goals scored by Thailand so far. He's good at getting away from defenders and converting chances into goals, but as Uzbekistan looks to have more possession this time around, I'm hoping that he'll be able to create some openings for Thailand to attack when the team gets the ball at the opposition's feet.
