s very difficult, a tough schedule.We shouldnt think we wil

Neighbours and fierce rivals Iran and Iraq will meet in the Asian Cup quarterfinals on Friday, while defending champion and title favourite Japan will face the United Arab Emirates.Here are some things to watch:___IRAN VS. IRAQ (0630 GMT): The winner-takes-all match in the Australian capital Canberra will be fiercely contested between two teams that both believe they have the edge on their opponent.Irans form has been faultless, with three wins from three in the group stage, keeping clean sheets in every game. With experienced and highly regarded coach Carlos Queiroz in charge, the Iranians belief in their title chances is growing.Iran, which beat Iraq in a pre-tournament friendly, clinched top spot in its group with a stoppage-time winner by Reza Ghoochannejhad which delivered a 1-0 win against the UAE.The spirit is great in our team, Ghoochannejhad. The chemistry and spirit in this team is amazing and we hope to continue and get good results in the future.Iraqs form has not been quite as convincing, beating Jordan and Palestine while losing a tightly-fought match against Japan. Iraq, though, still has vivid memories of 2007 when it won the Asian Cup against the odds, with its homeland in the midst of war.I see it as a tough game, Iraq midfielder Yaser Kasim said. They are a good side. We played them in a friendly already, so we got a test how to play against them, and how they play. Its going to be a massive, massive game and a great rivalry, so hopefully we can put on a show for the people.___JAPAN VS. UNITED ARAB EMIRATES (0930 GMT): Four-time champion Japan starts as a favourite against the UAE, and the Blue Samurai are living up to their billing as the team to beat for the title.Coach Javier Aguirre, who is working under the cloud of an ongoing match-fixing investigation relating to his time in Spanish club football, was not letting his players get ahead of themselves going into the Melbourne match.From my experience in the Copa America, World Cup and the Gold Cup, I can say that our chances are the same as the other seven teams remaining, Aguirre said. From now we start from zero.Japan will have had only two days rest since its last group game — one day less than the UAE — and star attacker Keisuke Honda was not impressed with the timing.Two days is too short for recovery, Honda said. We have to deal with it but I dont agree with this schedule. It is very difficult, a tough schedule.We shouldnt think we will create many chances against them. They are strong physically, have speed and many talented players.The Emirates chances of pulling off a surprise win will rest largely on the shoulders of young playmaker Omar Abdulrahman, whose performances in this tournament have demonstrated why some of Europes big clubs are tracking his progress.The UAEs strength is a coherence born of having the same group of players coming up through the ranks from under-17s, but Abdulrahman is the standout.Japan captain Makoto Hasebe, as the ball-winning midfielder, will have the chief responsibility of negating the Emirati star.He gets a lot of the ball from his teammates and we know he is the key player, Hasebe said. He is a playmaker more than a finisher and we have to take care of the way he distributes the ball.I have seen some of their games and they are dangerous going forward. They have a lot of players that have come through younger age groups together and are a complete team. But, that said, on our day I think we are a better team. LAPPEENRANTA, Finland -- Forward Brayden Point impressed head coach Kevin Dineen for the second straight exhibition game as Canadas under-18 hockey team defeated Denmark 7-2 on Monday. Point scored twice and had an assist as the Canadians tuned up for their U18 world championship opener Thursday against Sweden. "He goes to the hard places," said head coach Kevin Dineen, who recently guided the Canadian womens team to Olympic gold in Sochi. "He earns everything he gets." Point, who plays for the Western Hockey Leagues Moose Jaw Warriors, had a goal and an assist in last Fridays 3-2 loss to Finland. The five-foot-eight forward has been centring a line with Travis Konecny of the Ottawa 67s and Brendan Perlini of the Niagara IceDogs. Konecny had a goal Monday and Perlini added three assists. "For the most part that line has been very good," Dineen said. "Theyre a pretty dynamic group." Ryan Gropp of the Seattlee Thunderbirds, Clark Bishop of the Cape Breton Screaming Eagles, Ben Thomas of the Calgary Hitmen and Haydn Fleury of the Red Deer Rebels had the other Canadian goals.dddddddddddd Julio Billia of the Chicoutimi Sagueneens and Mason McDonald of the Charlottetown Islanders split the goaltending duties. Billia allowed both goals as Canada outshot Denmark 46-23. Preliminary round play begins Thursday and continues through April 22 with the medal games set for April 27. Canada has won gold at this tournament on three occasions: 2003, 2008 and 2013. The defending champions havent had a lot of time together. Some players just arrived in Europe on Monday. "Were at a bit of a disadvantage ... with this quick turnaround and putting a team together," said Dineen. "But at the end of it were talking about the best 17-year-old hockey players in Canada and when you have that it may make up a little bit for lack of chemistry." 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