Japan and Saudi Arabia meet in a semi-final of the Asian Cup on Wednesday (July 25) and on the eve of the match both squads were training in Hanoi.
The two teams have dominated the competition for the past two decades, with each winning three of the past six tournaments. Saudi Arabia won the title in 1984, 1988 and 1996, while Japan were crowned champions in 1992, 2000 and 2004, beating the Saudis in the first two of those finals.
Japan are bidding to win their third consecutive Asian Cu Read more

Japan and Saudi Arabia meet in a semi-final of the Asian Cup on Wednesday (July 25) and on the eve of the match both squads were training in Hanoi.
The two teams have dominated the competition for the past two decades, with each winning three of the past six tournaments. Saudi Arabia won the title in 1984, 1988 and 1996, while Japan were crowned champions in 1992, 2000 and 2004, beating the Saudis in the first two of those finals.
Japan are bidding to win their third consecutive Asian Cup title and fourth overall. The Saudis won the last of their three Asian Cups in 1996.
The defending champions beat Saudi Arabia 1-0 in the 1992 final on home soil and again by the same score in the 2000 final in Beirut.
Saudi Arabia beat Japan 1-0 in their first qualifying match last year, but Japan won their return match 3-1.
Japan should be able to field an unchanged side, with right-back Akira Kaji the only minor concern after he picked up a knock in the side's quarter-final win over Australia on penalties in Hanoi on Saturday.
Japan playmaker Shunsuke Nakamura, the mercurial Celtic midfielder, has been instrumental in the Japanese run to the last four, scoring twice himself and being involved in most of the team's other seven goals.
Saudi Arabia spent the whole of Monday travelling from Indonesia to Vietnam after their quarter-final win over Uzbekistan in Jakarta on Sunday night. Close