Asian Cup Team of the Tournament: Luongo, Son lead All-Star XI

Iain Strachan

Asian Cup Team of the Tournament: Luongo, Son lead All-Star XI image
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Goalkeeper - Mathew Ryan (Australia, Club Brugge).

There were plenty of candidates to take the gloves in our all-star XI. China's Wang Dalei, a penalty saving hero with the help of a ball boy's guess work, and Uzbekistan's Ignatiy Nesterov, who repeatedly denied South Korea until extra-time in their quarter-final, were strong candidates, as was the Taeguk Warriors' Kim Jin-hyeon, who didn't conceded until the final.

But we've got to go with Socceroo Mat Ryan, who responded to criticism of his efforts at the World Cup last year with an outstanding tournament on home soil. 

The Club Brugge man made some important acrobatic saves to help Australia build momentum early in the tournament and was excellent in the final on Saturday night, anticipating and cutting out a string of dangerous deliveries from wide areas and coming out to clean up Manuel Neuer-style when needed.

Defence - Cha Du-ri (South Korea, FC Seoul), Trent Sainsbury (Australia, PEC Zwolle), Matthew Spiranovic (Australia, Western Sydney Wanderers), Vitaliy Denisov (Uzbekistan, Lokomotiv Moscow).

Veteran fullback Cha, who so nearly bowed out on a winning note, reminded us all of his supreme quality by coming off the bench to tip the balance of the last-eight showdown against Uzbekistan in South Korea's favour. 

He shut down Mathew Leckie and kept Robbie Kruse quiet in the final, linking up well with Son Heung-min down Korea's right flank. The 34-year-old retired after the 2-1 extra-time defeat and will be missed by Uli Stielike's side.

We've gone for the two Australian centre-backs in the middle of the defence, Trent Sainsbury and Matthew Spiranovic having enjoyed outstanding campaigns in green and gold. 

We already knew about Spiranovic's qualities after the Western Sydney Wanderers man rose to the challenge of Brazil 2014 and he was a pillar of strength in the final at Stadium Australia.

Sainsbury though was a genuine revelation at the Asian Cup, taking Alex Wilkinson's place in the starting XI and effectively making the position his to lose moving forward. 

Scorer of the opening goal in the semi-final win over the United Arab Emirates, Sainsbury and Spiranovic dealt brilliantly under siege from Korea in the decider and were somewhat unfortunate to see the backline breached in injury time.

Uzbekistan's rugged left-back Vitaliy Denisov gets the nod after helping to guide the White Wolves past Saudi Arabia and into the last eight, where he was unfortunate to end up on the losing side against South Korea. An honourable mention should also go to Yuto Nagatomo, one of the few Japan players to emerge with any credit from their underwhelming tournament.  

Midfield - Massimo Luongo (Australia, Swindon Town), Omar Abdulrahman (United Arab Emirates, Al-Ain), Ki Sung-yueng (South Korea, Swansea City).

The three-man midfield picks itself, with South Korea captain Ki Sung-yeung deployed as a deep-lying playmaker. The Swansea City star was arguably the most talented player at the tournament, although some of his outstanding work went unseen to the untrained eye. 

Just ahead of him is the Socceroos' breakout star Massimo Luongo, who led the way for the hosts in terms of assist and chances created going into the final, during which he netted a stunning opener to bring his tally of goals in the competition to two. Big things are now expected of the Swindon Town man.

Playing behind the forwards in our Team of the Tournament is cult hero Omar Abdulrahman, who, as the commentators grew fond of saying, 'looks like David Luiz and plays like David Silva'. 

In the same month as Juan Roman Riquelme called time on his playing career, the diminutive UAE star was a welcome throwback to the days of classic No.10s, with a surplus of talent and a distinct absence of graft. 

Will he earn a move to the big time of European football and can he cut it at the highest level? That's the question on the lips of everyone who watched him at the 2015 Asian Cup. 

Forwards - Son Heung-min (South Korea, Bayer Leverkusen), Tim Cahill (Australia, Shanghai Shenhua), Ali Mabkhout (United Arab Emirates, Al Jazira).

Son started the tournament slowly as he sought to recover from the virus that swept through the South Korea camp, but finished it with a bang, narrowly failing to put his team into what could have been a decisive lead in the first half at Stadium Australia, volleying just over the bar and then seeing a shot blocked by the desperate lunge of Luongo.

He looked to have broken Australia hearts with that late, late equaliser in Sydney, but instead it was the Leverkusen man and his team-mates who finished the game in tears, a result that was undeniably harsh on the talented Taeguk Warriors. 

Along with Omar Abdulrahman, Ali Mabkhout was a standout performer for the UAE during their run to the semi-finals, finishing as leading scorer with five goals, including a well-taken finish in the 1-1 draw that ultimately lead to Japan being knocked out on penalties in the quarter-finals.

Finally, Tim Cahill leads the line after impressing at a tournament short on traditional centre-forwards. Ironically, Cahill of course didn't start his career as a striker but it's certainly where he's done his best work for the Socceroos in recent years, work that included equalising to settle nerves in the opener against Kuwait and netting twice, including a contender for goal of the tournament, in the 2-0 quarter-final win over China.

Substitutes

Wang Dalei (China), Mohanad Salem (UAE), Sardor Rashidov (Uzbekistan), Ahmed Yasin (Iraq), Hamza Al Daradreh (Jordan), Mohammad Al Sahlawi (Saudi Arabia), Ahmed Khalil (UAE).
 

Iain Strachan