The 2023 AFC Asian Cup is the ongoing 18th edition of the AFC Asian Cup, the quadrennial international football tournament organised by the Asian Football Confederation. It involves 24 national teams after expansion in 2019, with Qatar the defending champions.
Location: Qatar
Dates: Fri, Jan 12, 2024 – Sat, Feb 10, 2024
Teams: 24 (from 1 confederation)
Venue(s): 9 (in 5 host cities)
Goals scored: 93 (2.45 per match)
Matches played: 38
MATCH LIVE: AFC Asian Cup 2024
Group A: Qatar, Australia, Jordan, Indonesia
Group B: Japan, Korea Republic, United Arab Emirates, China PR
Group C: Saudi Arabia, Iraq, Thailand, Tajikistan
Group D: Uzbekistan, Vietnam, Kuwait, Malaysia
Match 37: January 28, 6:30am ET — Australia 4-0 Indonesia — Al Rayyan
Match 38: January 28, 11am ET — Tajikistan 1-1 United Arab Emirates (5-3 PKs) — Al Rayyan
Match 39: January 29, 6:30am ET — Iraq vs Jordan — Al Rayyan
Match 40: January 29, 11am ET — Qatar vs Palestine — Al Khor
Match 41: January 30, 6:30am ET — Uzbekistan vs Thailand — Al Wakrah
Match 42: January 30, 11am ET — Saudi Arabia vs South Korea — Al Rayyan
Match 43: January 31, 6:30am ET — Bahrain vs Japan — Doha
Match 44: January 31, 11am ET — Iran vs Syria — Doha
Quarterfinal
Match 45: February 2, 6:30am ET — Tajikistan vs Winner of 39 — Al Rayyan
Match 46: February 2, 10:30am ET — Australia vs Winner of 42 — Al Wakrah
Match 47: February 3, 6:30am ET — Winner of 44 vs Winner of 43 — Al Rayyan
Match 48: February 3, 10:30am ET — Winner of 40 vs Winner of 41 — Al Khor
Semifinal
Match 49: February 6, 10am ET — Winner of 45 vs Winner of 46 — Al Rayyan
Match 50: February 7, 10am ET — Winner of 47 vs Winner of 48 — Doha
Final
February 10, 10am ET — Winner of 49 vs Winner of 50 — Lusail
Group stage schedule
All kick offs in ET
Group A
January 12, 11am : Qatar 3-0 Lebanon — Lusail Stadium, Lusail
January 13, 9:30am : China 0-0 Tajikistan — Abdullah bin Khalifa Stadium, Doha
January 17, 6:30am: Lebanon 0-0 China — Al Thumama Stadium, Doha
January 17, 9:30am: Tajikistan 0-1 Qatar — Al Bayt Stadium, Al Khor
January 22, 10am: Qatar 1-0 China — Khalifa International Stadium, Al Rayyan
January 22, 10am: Tajikistan 2-1 Lebanon — Jassim bin Hamad Stadium, Al Rayyan
Group B
January 13, 6:30am: Australia 2-0 India — Ahmad bin Ali Stadium, Al Rayyan
January 13, 12:30pm: Uzbekistan 0-0 Syria — Jassim bin Hamad Stadium, Al Rayyan
January 18, 6:30am: Syria 0-1 Australia — Jassim bin Hamad Stadium, Al Rayyan
January 18, 9:30am: India 0-3 Uzbekistan — Ahmad bin Ali Stadium, Al Rayyan
January 23, 6:30am: Australia 1-1 Uzbekistan — Al Janoub Stadium, Al Wakrah
January 23, 6:30am: Syria 1-0 India — Al Bayt Stadium, Al Khor
Group C
January 14, 9:30am: UAE 3-1 Hong Kong — Khalifa International Stadium, Al Rayyan
January 14, 12:30pm: Iran 4-1 Palestine — Education City Stadium, Al Rayyan
January 18, 12:30pm: Palestine 1-1 UAE — Al Janoub Stadium, Al Wakrah
January 19, 12:30pm: Hong Kong 0-1 Iran — Khalifa International Stadium, Al Rayyan
January 23, 10am: Iran 2-1 UAE — Education City Stadium, Al Rayyan
January 23, 10am: Hong Kong 0-3 Palestine — Abdullah bin Khalifa Stadium, Doha
Group D
January 14, 6:30am: Japan 4-2 Vietnam — Al Thumama Stadium, Doha
January 15, 9:30am: Indonesia 1-3 Iraq — Ahmad bin Ali Stadium, Al Rayyan
January 19, 6:30am: Iraq 2-1 Japan — Education City Stadium, Al Rayyan
January 19, 9:30am: Vietnam 0-1 Indonesia — Abdullah bin Khalifa Stadium, Doha
January 24, 6:30am: Japan 3-1 Indonesia — Al Thumama Stadium, Doha
January 24, 6:30am: Iraq 3-2 Vietnam — Jassim bin Hamad Stadium, Al Rayyan
Group E
January 15, 6:30am: South Korea 3-1 Bahrain — Jassim bin Hamad Stadium, Al Rayyan
January 15, 12:30pm: Malaysia 0-4 Jordan — Al Janoub Stadium, Al Wakrah
January 20, 6:30am: Jordan 2-2 South Korea — Al Thumama Stadium, Doha
January 20, 9:30am: Bahrain 1-0 Malaysia — Jassim bin Hamad Stadium, Al Rayyan
January 25, 6:30am: South Korea 3-3 Malaysia — Al Janoub Stadium, Al Wakrah
January 25, 6:30am: Jordan 0-1 Bahrain — Khalifa International Stadium, Al Rayyan
Group F
January 16, 9:30am: Thailand 2-0 Kyrgyzstan — Abdullah bin Khalifa Stadium, Doha
January 16, 12:30pm: Saudi Arabia 2-1 Oman — Khalifa International Stadium, Al Rayyan
January 21, 9:30am: Oman 0-0 Thailand — Abdullah bin Khalifa Stadium, Doha
January 21, 12:30pm: Kyrgysztan 0-2 Saudi Arabia — Ahmad bin Ali Stadium, Al Rayyan
January 25, 10am: Saudi Arabia 0-0 Thailand — Education City Stadium, Al Rayyan
January 25, 10am: Kyrgyzstan 1-1 Oman — Abdullah bin Khalifa Stadium, Doha
The AFC Asian Cup is the primary association football competition contested by the senior men’s national teams of the members of the Asian Football Confederation (AFC), determining the continental champion of Asia. It is the second oldest continental football championship in the world after Copa América. The winning team becomes the champion of Asia and until 2015 qualified for the FIFA Confederations Cup.
The Asian Cup was held once every four years from the 1956 edition in Hong Kong until the 2004 tournament in China. However, since the Summer Olympic Games and the European Football Championship were also scheduled in the same year as the Asian Cup, the AFC decided to move their championship to a less crowded cycle. After 2004, the tournament was next held in 2007, when it was co-hosted by four countries in Southeast Asia: Indonesia, Malaysia, Thailand and Vietnam. Thereafter, it has again been held every four years.
The Asian Cup has generally been dominated by a small number of top teams. Prominently successful teams include Japan (four times), Iran, Saudi Arabia (three times each) and South Korea (twice). The other teams which have achieved success are Qatar (2019 current champions), Australia (2015), Iraq (2007) and Kuwait (1980). Israel won in 1964 but was later expelled and has since joined UEFA.
Australia joined the Asian confederation in 2007 and hosted the Asian Cup finals in 2015, winning the competition in the final against South Korea. The 2019 tournament was expanded from 16 teams to 24 teams, with the qualifying process doubling as part of the qualification for the 2018 FIFA World Cup.[2][3] Qatar Airways, state-owned by Qatar, has sponsored the AFC Asian Cup since 2023 as part of Qatar’s global soft power strategy.
A pan-Asian competition was first proposed after the end of World War II, but it was not implemented until the 1950s. Two years after the Asian Football Confederation (AFC) came into being in 1954, the first ever AFC Asian Cup was staged in Hong Kong with seven of the twelve founding members taking part, making the tournament the second oldest continental competition in the world. The qualifying process involved the hosts plus the winners of the various zones (Central, Eastern and Western). It was only a four-team tournament, a format that also existed for 1960 and 1964. Each sub-confederation already hosts their own biennial championship, each with varying degrees of interest.[citation needed]
South Korea demonstrated its superiority in the early years of the competition as the country won the championship in both 1956 and 1960; this remains as South Korea’s best achievements in the tournament.
