'So one-sided': crowds fire up Middle East teams at Asian Cup
Most in a crowd of nearly 40,000 were behind Iraq in their shock 2-1 win over four-time champions Japan, a day before South Korea wilted under pressure from Jordan before salvaging a last-gasp 2-2 draw.
Australia, another of the title contenders, have won both matches so far but their players said that facing Syria in Doha had been like an away game. Japan coach Hajime Moriyasu said that Iraq's vocal fans had played a part in their team's stunning triumph over the pre-tournament favourites.
"We expected that the atmosphere in the stadium would give Iraq energy and that they would pressure us, and the aim was to stop that. But they came at us harder than we expected," he said.
It was a similar story for Jurgen Klinsmann's South Korea a day later, with the vast majority of the 36,000 fans at Al Thumama Stadium backing Jordan. Like Iraq against Japan, Jordan hit South Korea with a wave of relentless energy, and were unlucky not to claim a famous win.
Klinsmann said it was "a very intense game" but he believes it will help his team as they attempt to win the tournament for the first time since 1960.
"I think today was very good for us to experience the emotional side and the fighting side from Jordan. I am sure that throughout this tournament we will face more Arabic nations in the knockout phase. It is important for us to take every lesson in the group phase," said the German, a World Cup winner as a player.
The compact Jassim bin Hamad Stadium, where Australia squeezed past Syria 1-0, was not used at the 2022 World Cup and has a comparatively small capacity of just over 12,000.
Even though it was not full, the Syrian fans made a racket every time their side threatened. In contrast, there was just a few small pockets of Australian
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