South Korea vs United Arab Emirates

The match that most likely settles the group

The last round of Group E puts the two strongest records in it together at King Saud University Stadium in Riyadh, with the other match, in Jeddah, running simultaneously as the last round always does. Between them South Korea and the United Arab Emirates have twenty-six previous Asian Cup appearances.

South Korea have two titles and four lost finals, a combination that describes a team almost permanently in contention and almost never finishing the job. The titles came in 1956 and 1960; every one of the four finals lost came afterwards.

The Emirates have one final, lost at home in 1996 on penalties, and eleven other appearances that ended earlier. If the group has gone to form by this point, this decides who tops it. If it has not, it decides considerably more than that.

The two records

This is a sixteenth Asian Cup for South Korea, whose best finish is winners (1956, 1960), against a twelfth for United Arab Emirates, best runners-up (1996).