ACL players who can impress in UAE 2019

AFC – KUALA LUMPUR, With the 2018 AFC Champions League quarter-finals just over a month away, we look at players whose form in the competition can drive them to excel in the 2019 AFC Asian Cup in January.

Eight of Asia’s biggest club sides are battling for the 2018 AFC Champions League title, and amongst their ranks are some top players hoping to impress their national team managers as we approach the AFC Asian Cup UAE 2019.

Some have already shown glimpses of their talents at the FIFA World Cup in Russia, while others are dreaming of one last grand showing before hanging their boots. So let’s look at some of the biggest AFC Asian Cup hopefuls featuring in August’s AFC Champions League quarter-finals.

Alireza Beiranvand (Persepolis and IR Iran)
The 25-year-old was one of the stars of Team Melli’s 2018 FIFA World Cup campaign, saving a penalty from Cristiano Ronaldo and impressing throughout. At Persepolis, Beiranvand has kept five clean sheets, more than any other goalkeeper in the 2018 AFC Champions League.

The quarter-finals throw a big challenge for the goalkeeper as his Persepolis side face Qatar’s Al Duhail, who have been an unstoppable attacking force this season, bagging 21 goals in the continental competition, the highest amongst West Asian teams and only second to Jeonbuk Hyundai Motors’ 26.

The 194cm tall custodian’s performances for club and country mean he is set for a starting role in January as Carlos Queiroz’s IR Iran look to lift their first AFC Asian Cup title since 1976. Beiranvand and co start their continental campaign on January 7 against Yemen before facing Vietnam and Iraq in Group D.

Rouzbeh Chesmi (Esteghlal and IR Iran)
After just one match and a clean sheet, Cheshmi’s World Cup campaign was ended prematurely with a muscle injury to the disappointment of the 24-year-old defender who had recorded the team’s best pass completion rate (94% ) in his only outing in Russia 2018 against Morocco.

Two months later, Cheshmi’s attention turns to the AFC Champions League as he looks to help his Esteghlal side to the semi-finals for the second time after 2013. The Iranian giants had emerged from the group stage unbeaten and recorded three clean sheets in the process with Cheshmi starting all but one of their six group games.

Cheshmi’s replacement in the World Cup, Majid Hosseini, has impressed, but the Esteghlal defender’s versatility means a starting spot in UAE 2019 is a strong possibility and a strong showing in the two quarter-finals can further cement his status as one of Team Melli’s key defensive assets at the AFC Asian Cup.