Iraq defeated Indonesia 3-1 while Japan beat Vietnam 4-2 on Matchday One.
Unbeaten run
Japan are unbeaten in their last nine internationals against Iraq (W7 D2) but were held 1-1 in their most recent encounter (June 2017); though, they have won each of their two games against Iraq at the AFC Asian Cup (2000, 2015).

Tough stat
From the four occasions when Iraq won their opening AFC Asian Cup match, they have succeeded to win back-to-back only once. However, this happened in the 2019 tournament. They also managed to proceed to the knock-out stage whenever they’ve won their first match of the group stage (1996, 2000, 2015, 2019).

Amazing tally
Japan are undefeated in their last 25 AFC Asian Cup group stage matches (W19 D6), winning each of their last nine.

Instant hero
Osama Rashid scored his first AFC Asian Cup goal with his first shot on target against Indonesia. He is, alongside Ali Adnan and Jalal Hassan, three Iraqi players who played in the last three editions of the AFC Asian Cup.

Influential Minamino
Takumi Minamino was directly involved in three goals against Vietnam (2 goals, 1 assist), the first Japanese player to do so in an AFC Asian Cup match since Shinji Kagawa in 2011 (quarter-final against Qatar, 2 goals, 1assist).