The Asian Cup is upon us, and although the sixteen teams represent the best of Asian football, many of the players will be unfamiliar to American and European fans. Here are ten names that you'd do well to remember they could well be the stars of the tournament.

Shinji Kagawa (Japan)
Keisuke Honda may be better known after the World Cup, but Kagawa (who missed the final cut for South Africa) is the one grabbing all the headlines at the moment.

Opening ceremonies are typically an exercise in finding out just what the hell is in the fridge. Not only are they by and large terrible, but some, like the dolls from Euro 2008, are even scarring.

Qatar has no such problem, mostly because they've nailed the five year old's guide to staying interested:

Pretty lights, lots of color and big booms.

The Asian Cup kicks off tomorrow with hosts Qatar enjoying a run about with Uzbekistan in that lovely stadium just above.

Since most of us (guilty)will be going in a little bit blind, with a little bit of research and a good bit of guessing, we've compiled some games, teams and players to watch from each of the groups.

Several weeks ago, when this video was made, no one gave a flying oil drum about Qatar and its relationship to football not, at least, in the mainstream world. Now it appears they won't be able to get away without several million journalists masquerading as white-glove inspectors, turning over each and every move they make from now until 2022.