2019 Asian Cup Group C: Teams, fixtures and key players

Fifa world ranking: 76 Ranking in Asia: 7 Previous Asian Cups: 11 Best Asian Cup performance: Runners-up (1984, 2004) 2015 Asian Cup: Quarter-finals Nickname: Team Dragon Manager: Marcello Lippi Captain: Zheng Zhi Player to watch: Wu Lei Fixtures: January 7 v Kyrgyzstan (Al Ain); January 11 v Philippines (Abu Dhabi); January 16 v South Korea (Abu Dhabi) When Marcello Lippi took charge of China's troubled national team a little more than two years ago, hopes were high the World Cup-winning Italian could kick-start a long-overdue return to the upper tier of Asian football. But, as the septuagenarian's tenure draws to a close at January's Asian Cup finals, the question is whether Lippi has made much of a difference at all. While the former Juventus manager oversaw an upturn in fortunes in the early days of his reign, China go into the tournament in the midst of an indifferent run of form. Fifa world ranking: 91 Ranking in Asia: 12 Previous Asian Cups: 0 Nickname: White Falcons Manager: Aleksandr Krestinin Captain: Azamat Baymatov Player to watch: Anton Zemlianukhin Fixtures: January 7 v China (Abu Dhabi); January 11 v South Korea (Al Ain); January 16 v Philippines (Dubai) Kyrgyzstan will be making their first appearance at the Asian Cup finals having qualified for the tournament from a group that featured India, Macau and Myanmar. The former Soviet Republic gained membership of the Asian Football Confederation in 1994 and lack experience at continental level. They have enjoyed a mixed build-up, but talented performers such as Anton Zemlianukhin and Vitaly Lux enhance their hopes of a place in the knockout rounds. _____________ Read more on 2019 Asian Cup: 2019 Asian Cup: Groups, teams, tickets and all you need to know Bernd Stange counting on Syria fans to carry team through 2019 Asian Cup group phase Jan Kocian wants Yemen to dream of big victories at 2019 Asian Cup Aref Al Awani: Legacy for UAE football will come from Asian Cup Celtic asked that he be rested: Arnold on why Rogic did not play for Australia against Oman Sven-Goran Eriksson's New Year wish to grow interest in football in Philippines In pictures: Australia thrash Oman 5-0 in Dubai friendly ahead of 2019 Asian Cup _____________ Fifa world ranking: 116 Ranking in Asia: 21 Previous Asian Cups: 0 Nickname: Azkals Manager: Sven-Goran Eriksson Captain: Phil Younghusband Player to watch: Stephan Schrock Fixtures: January 7 v South Korea (Dubai); January 11 v China (Abu Dhabi); January 16 v Kyrgyzstan (Dubai) Sven-Goran Eriksson's surprise appointment as manager made headlines around the world, and now the basketball-mad nation is hoping the impact of the Swede's arrival can last beyond the Asian Cup finals. The Azkals will play in the continental championship for the first time. But it was the appointment of the former England manager on a short-term contract in October that grabbed global attention for Philippine football. Fifa world ranking: 53 Ranking in Asia: 4 Previous Asian Cups: 13 Best Asian Cup performance: Champions (1956, 1960) 2015 Asian Cup: Runners-up Nickname: Taegeuk Warriors Manager: Paulo Bento Captain: Son Heung-min Player to watch: Son Heung-min Fixtures: January 7 v Philippines (Dubai); January 11 v Kyrgyzstan (Al Ain); January 16 v China (Abu Dhabi) Since his appointment in August, Paulo Bento has had little time to get to grips with the job but with the South Koreans unbeaten in his six matches in charge, optimism is building ahead of their opener against the Philippines in Dubai on January 7. South Korea's task in the group stage has been made more difficult due to the absence of captain Son Heung-min , who will sit out the first two games under an agreement with his club side Tottenham Hotspur. However, the South Koreans should still have enough firepower to see them through to the knockout stage, with Gamba Osaka striker Hwang Ui-jo enjoying a rich vein of scoring form and Ki Sung-yueng impressing at the heart of the Newcastle United midfield. ______________ More on Asian Cup: Football fans attending AGL games to get tickets to 2019 Asian Cup matches In pictures: Syria's footballers get big reception in Sharjah ahead of Asian Cup Al Ain's Fifa Club World Cup success can be inspiration for UAE at Asian Cup Asian Cup arrives in the UAE: Emirates flies trophy from Japan to Dubai Lowdown on 2019 Asian Cup being hosted by UAE in January-February Omar Abdulrahman injury hits UAE hard and deprives event of a star

2019 Asian Cup Group C: Teams, fixtures and key players

A breakdown of the teams in Group C – China, Kyrgyzstan, Philippines and South Korea – and what we can expect from each at the January 5-February 1 tournament