2023 AFC Asian Cup Final

2023 AFC Asian Cup

AFC Asian Cup Qatar 2023 كأس آسيا 2023
Tournament details
Host country	Qatar
Dates	12 January – 10 February 2024
Teams	24 (from 1 confederation)
Venue(s)	9 (in 5 host cities)
Tournament statistics
Matches played	8
Goals scored	24 (3 per match)
Attendance	192,604 (24,076 per match)
Top scorer(s)	Takumi Minamino Akram Afif Lee Kang-in (2 goals each)
← 2019 2027 → All statistics correct as of 14 January 2024.

The 2023 AFC Asian Cup is the current 18th edition of the AFC Asian Cup, the quadrennial international football tournament organised by the Asian Football Confederation (AFC). It involves 24 national teams after expansion in 2019, with Qatar the defending champions.^[1][2]

On 17 October 2022, the AFC announced that the tournament will be held in Qatar, replacing original hosts China.^[3] Due to the high summer temperatures and Qatar's participation in the 2023 CONCACAF Gold Cup, the tournament was postponed to 12 January – 10 February 2024, while retaining the original name for both existing sponsorship and logistical purposes.^[4][5]

Host selection

China was acclaimed as the host country on 4 June 2019, as sole finishing bidder, days just prior to the 69th FIFA Congress in Paris, France.^[6] The tournament was originally scheduled to be held from 16 June to 16 July 2023.^[7] On 14 May 2022, the AFC announced that China would not host the tournament due to the COVID-19 pandemic and China's Zero-COVID policy.^[8] Due to China's relinquishment of its hosting rights,^[9][10] the AFC conducted a second round of bidding, with a deadline for submissions scheduled on 17 October 2022.^[11] Four nations submitted bids: Australia, Indonesia, Qatar, and South Korea.^[12] However, Australia subsequently withdrew in September 2022,^[13] as did Indonesia on 15 October.^[14] On 17 October, the AFC announced that Qatar won the bid and would host the tournament.^[3]

Venues

Five host cities were submitted in the 2023 bid, including seven stadiums previously prepared for the 2022 FIFA World Cup. On 5 April 2023, the AFC announced the eight stadiums across four host cities for the tournament.^[15] On 21 August 2023, Lusail Stadium was added as a ninth venue.^[16] All but one (Stadium 974) of the host stadiums from the 2022 FIFA World Cup were selected for the tournament, along with Jassim bin Hamad Stadium, which hosted matches during the 2011 edition, and Abdullah bin Khalifa Stadium, which had not hosted any international tournament previously.

Lusail Stadium hosted the opening match on 12 January.^[16] Ahmad bin Ali Stadium in Al Rayyan and Al Thumama Stadium in Doha will host the semi-finals matches; with Lusail to host the final which will be held on 10 February.^[16]

On 5 January 2024, the Main Media Centre for the coverage of the tournament was officially inaugurated in Msheireb Downtown Doha.^[17]

Qatar
City	Stadium	Capacity
Al Khor	Al Bayt Stadium	68,895
Lusail	Lusail Stadium	88,966
Al Rayyan	Ahmad bin Ali Stadium	45,032
	Education City Stadium	44,667
	Jassim bin Hamad Stadium	15,000
	Khalifa International Stadium	45,857
Doha	Abdullah bin Khalifa Stadium	10,000
	Al Thumama Stadium	44,400
Al Wakrah	Al Janoub Stadium	44,325

Teams

The first two rounds of qualification also served as the Asian qualification for the 2022 World Cup. Qatar, the host of the World Cup, participated only in the second round to qualify for the 2023 Asian Cup (which they were later selected as hosts for after China withdrew its hosting rights).

Qualified teams

Of the 24 teams set to appear, 20 teams are returning after appearing in the 2019 edition.

Tajikistan are set to be the only debutant in the competition, while Hong Kong mark their return for the first time in 56 years. Indonesia and Malaysia both qualified for the first time since hosting the 2007 AFC Asian Cup.

Four nations from the previous edition have failed to qualify (North Korea, Turkmenistan, Yemen, and the Philippines). India is the only SAFF representative in this edition while it is the first time that five teams from the AFF managed to reach the finals (Australia, Indonesia, Malaysia, Thailand, and Vietnam). Only two teams from WAFF failed to qualify for this tournament (Yemen and Kuwait). Iran meanwhile extend their qualification record - this is their 15th straight appearance in the tournament, having qualified for every edition since 1968.

Team	Method of qualification	Date of qualification	Finals appearance	Last appearance	Previous best performance
China	Original hosts and second round Group A runners-up	4 June 2019[a]	13th	2019	Runners-up (1984, 2004)
Japan	Second round Group F winners	28 May 2021	10th	2019	Winners (1992, 2000, 2004, 2011)
Syria	Second round Group A winners	7 June 2021	7th	2019	Group stage (1980, 1984, 1988, 1996, 2011, 2019)
Qatar	Hosts and Second round Group E winners	7 June 2021	11th	2019	Winners (2019)
South Korea	Second round Group H winners	9 June 2021	15th	2019	Winners (1956, 1960)
Australia	Second round Group B winners	11 June 2021	5th	2019	Winners (2015)
Iran	Second round Group C winners	15 June 2021	15th	2019	Winners (1968, 1972, 1976)
Saudi Arabia	Second round Group D winners	15 June 2021	11th	2019	Winners (1984, 1988, 1996)
United Arab Emirates	Second round Group G winners	15 June 2021	11th	2019	Runners-up (1996)
Iraq	Second round Group C runners-up	15 June 2021	10th	2019	Winners (2007)
Oman	Second round Group E runners-up	15 June 2021	5th	2019	Round of 16 (2019)
Vietnam	Second round Group G runners-up	15 June 2021	5th	2019	Fourth place (1956[b], 1960[b])
Lebanon	Second round Group H runners-up	15 June 2021	3rd	2019	Group stage (2000, 2019)
Palestine	Third round Group B winners	14 June 2022	3rd	2019	Group stage (2015, 2019)
Uzbekistan	Third round Group C winners	14 June 2022	8th	2019	Fourth place (2011)
Thailand	Third round Group C runners-up	14 June 2022	8th	2019	Third place (1972)
India	Third round Group D winners	14 June 2022	5th	2019	Runners-up (1964)
Hong Kong	Third round Group D runners-up	14 June 2022	4th	1968	Third place (1956)
Tajikistan	Third round Group F winners	14 June 2022	1st	Debut	None
Kyrgyzstan	Third round Group F runners-up	14 June 2022	2nd	2019	Round of 16 (2019)
Bahrain	Third round Group E winners	14 June 2022	7th	2019	Fourth place (2004)
Malaysia	Third round Group E runners-up	14 June 2022	4th	2007	Group stage (1976, 1980, 2007)
Jordan	Third round Group A winners	14 June 2022	5th	2019	Quarter-finals (2004, 2011)
Indonesia	Third round Group A runners-up	14 June 2022	5th	2007	Group stage (1996, 2000, 2004, 2007)

Draw

The draw was held at the Katara Opera House in Doha on 11 May 2023.^[18]

From the April 2023 FIFA World Rankings^[19]

Pot 1	Pot 2	Pot 3	Pot 4
Qatar (61) (hosts)  Japan (20)  Iran (24)  South Korea (27)  Australia (29)  Saudi Arabia (54)	Iraq (67)  United Arab Emirates (72)  Oman (73)  Uzbekistan (74)  China (81)  Jordan (84)	Bahrain (85)  Syria (90)  Palestine (93)  Vietnam (95)  Kyrgyzstan (96)  Lebanon (99)	India (101)  Tajikistan (109)  Thailand (114)  Malaysia (138)  Hong Kong (147)  Indonesia (149)

Draw result

Teams were drawn into Groups A to F. For the first time in AFC Asian Cup history, the teams from lowest pots were drawn first but not assigned to the positions of their groups, following by number orders of the group stage, as in previous editions. Pot 1 teams were assigned to the first positions of their groups, while next the positions of all other teams were drawn separately from Pot 4 to 2 (for the purposes of determining the match schedules in each group).

The groups were confirmed following the draw:

Group A Pos Team A1  Qatar A2  China A3  Tajikistan A4  Lebanon

Group B Pos Team B1  Australia B2  Uzbekistan B3  Syria B4  India

Group C Pos Team C1  Iran C2  United Arab Emirates C3  Hong Kong C4  Palestine

Group D Pos Team D1  Japan D2  Indonesia D3  Iraq D4  Vietnam

Group E Pos Team E1  South Korea E2  Malaysia E3  Jordan E4  Bahrain

Group F Pos Team F1  Saudi Arabia F2  Thailand F3  Kyrgyzstan F4  Oman

Squads

Each team were required to registered a squad with a minimum of 18 players and a maximum of 23 players, at least three of whom must be goalkeepers.^[20] In December 2023, the maximum was increased to 26 players.^[21]

Officiating

Video Assistant Referee (VAR) is being used for the entire tournament following its implementation from the quarter-final stage onwards in the 2019 edition. The Semi-Automated Offside Technology (SAOT) system, which utilizes 12 specialized cameras and artificial intelligence, is also being implemented at all 51 matches. This marks the first time that SAOT is in place at an AFC competition and makes the AFC the first confederation to apply the system at the continental men's national team level.^[22]

Referees

Assistant referees

Stand-by referees

Stand-by assistant referees

Opening ceremony

The opening ceremony, named "The Lost Chapter of Kelileh and Demneh" took place at Lusail Stadium, before the opening game between Qatar and Lebanon on 12 January 2024.^[23][24]

Group stage

Tiebreakers

Teams are ranked according to points (3 points for a win, 1 point for a draw, 0 points for a loss), and if tied on points, the following tiebreaking criteria are applied, in the order given, to determine the rankings:^[1]

1. Points in head-to-head matches among tied teams;
2. Goal difference in head-to-head matches among tied teams;
3. Goals scored in head-to-head matches among tied teams;
4. If more than two teams are tied, and after applying all head-to-head criteria above, a subset of teams are still tied, all head-to-head criteria above are reapplied exclusively to this subset of teams;
5. Goal difference in all group matches;
6. Goals scored in all group matches;
7. Penalty shoot-out if only two teams are tied and they are playing each other in the last round of the group;
8. Disciplinary points (yellow card = 1 point, red card as a result of two yellow cards = 3 points, direct red card = 3 points, yellow card followed by direct red card = 4 points);
9. Drawing of lots.

Group A

Pos	Team v t e	Pld	W	D	L	GF	GA	GD	Pts	Qualification
1	Qatar (H)	1	1	0	0	3	0	+3	3	Advance to knockout stage
2	China	1	0	1	0	0	0	0	1[a]
3	Tajikistan	1	0	1	0	0	0	0	1[a]	Possible knockout stage
4	Lebanon	1	0	0	1	0	3	−3	0

---

---

Group B

Pos	Team v t e	Pld	W	D	L	GF	GA	GD	Pts	Qualification
1	Australia	1	1	0	0	2	0	+2	3	Advance to knockout stage
2	Syria	1	0	1	0	0	0	0	1[a]
3	Uzbekistan	1	0	1	0	0	0	0	1[a]	Possible knockout stage
4	India	1	0	0	1	0	2	−2	0

---

---

Group C

Pos	Team v t e	Pld	W	D	L	GF	GA	GD	Pts	Qualification
1	Iran	1	1	0	0	4	1	+3	3	Advance to knockout stage
2	United Arab Emirates	1	1	0	0	3	1	+2	3
3	Hong Kong	1	0	0	1	1	3	−2	0	Possible knockout stage
4	Palestine	1	0	0	1	1	4	−3	0

---

---

Group D

Pos	Team v t e	Pld	W	D	L	GF	GA	GD	Pts	Qualification
1	Japan	1	1	0	0	4	2	+2	3	Advance to knockout stage
2	Indonesia	0	0	0	0	0	0	0	0
3	Iraq	0	0	0	0	0	0	0	0	Possible knockout stage
4	Vietnam	1	0	0	1	2	4	−2	0

---

---

Group E

Pos	Team v t e	Pld	W	D	L	GF	GA	GD	Pts	Qualification
1	South Korea	1	1	0	0	3	1	+2	3	Advance to knockout stage
2	Malaysia	0	0	0	0	0	0	0	0
3	Jordan	0	0	0	0	0	0	0	0	Possible knockout stage
4	Bahrain	1	0	0	1	1	3	−2	0

---

---

Group F

Pos	Team v t e	Pld	W	D	L	GF	GA	GD	Pts	Qualification
1	Saudi Arabia	0	0	0	0	0	0	0	0	Advance to knockout stage
2	Thailand	0	0	0	0	0	0	0	0
3	Kyrgyzstan	0	0	0	0	0	0	0	0	Possible knockout stage
4	Oman	0	0	0	0	0	0	0	0

---

---

Ranking of third-placed teams

The four best third-placed teams from the six groups advance to the knockout stage along with the six group winners and six runners-up.

Pos	Grp	Team v t e	Pld	W	D	L	GF	GA	GD	Pts	Qualification
1	B	Uzbekistan	1	0	1	0	0	0	0	1[a]	Advance to knockout stage
2	A	Tajikistan	1	0	1	0	0	0	0	1[a]
3	C	Hong Kong	1	0	0	1	1	3	−2	0
4	D	Third place Group D	0	0	0	0	0	0	0	0
5	E	Third place Group E	0	0	0	0	0	0	0	0
6	F	Third place Group F	0	0	0	0	0	0	0	0

Combinations of matches in the round of 16

The specific match-ups involving the third-placed teams depended on which four third-placed teams qualified for the round of 16:

Third-placed teams qualify from groups							1A vs	1B vs	1C vs	1D vs
A	B	C	D				3C	3D	3A	3B
A	B	C		E			3C	3A	3B	3E
A	B	C			F		3C	3A	3B	3F
A	B		D	E			3D	3A	3B	3E
A	B		D		F		3D	3A	3B	3F
A	B			E	F		3E	3A	3B	3F
A		C	D	E			3C	3D	3A	3E
A		C	D		F		3C	3D	3A	3F
A		C		E	F		3C	3A	3F	3E
A			D	E	F		3D	3A	3F	3E
	B	C	D	E			3C	3D	3B	3E
	B	C	D		F		3C	3D	3B	3F
	B	C		E	F		3E	3C	3B	3F
	B		D	E	F		3E	3D	3B	3F
		C	D	E	F		3C	3D	3F	3E

Knockout stage

In the knockout stage, extra time and penalty shoot-out are used to decide the winner if necessary.

Bracket

Round of 16

Quarter-finals

Semi-finals

Final

28 January – Al Rayyan (Ahmad bin Ali)

Runner-up Group A

2 February – Al Rayyan (Ahmad bin Ali)

Runner-up Group C

29 January – Al Rayyan (Khalifa)

Winner Group D

6 February – Al Rayyan (Ahmad bin Ali)

3rd Group B/E/F

28 January – Al Rayyan (Jassim bin Hamad)

Winner Group B

2 February – Al Wakrah

3rd Group A/C/D

30 January – Al Rayyan (Education)

Winner Group F

10 February – Lusail

Runner-up Group E

31 January – Doha (Abdullah bin Khalifa)

Winner Group C

3 February – Al Rayyan (Education)

3rd Group A/B/F

31 January – Doha (Al Thumama)

Winner Group E

7 February – Doha (Al Thumama)

Runner-up Group D

29 January – Al Khor

Winner Group A

3 February – Al Khor

3rd Group C/D/E

30 January – Al Wakrah

Runner-up Group B

Runner-up Group F

All times are local, AST (UTC+3).

Round of 16

---

---

---

---

---

---

---

Quarter-finals

---

---

---

Semi-finals

---

Final

Statistics

Goalscorers

There have been 24 goals scored in 8 matches, for an average of 3 goals per match (as of 15 January 2024).

2 goals

1 goal

Marketing

Logo and slogan

The official logo and TV opening of the tournament were launched during the final draw on 11 May 2023. The logo features a silhouette of the AFC Asian Cup trophy, with the trophy lines inspired from feathers of a falcon and petals of the lotus flower. The top of the logo is colored in Qatar's national color, maroon, while the logo's tail features an Arabic nuqta.^[26]

The tournament's slogan, "Hayya Asia", translating to "Let's go Asia!", was revealed on 5 October 2023 in an event to mark 100 days until the tournament.^[27]

Match ball

The official match ball, the VORTEXAC23 made by Kelme, was unveiled on 10 August 2023. The ball’s design "incorporates Qatar’s maroon colours, echoing the nation’s identity, and mirrors the championship’s emblem at its centre". Technical assessments have rigorously tested the ball’s performance, ensuring its durability, quality, and readiness.^[28]

On 20 December 2023, the official match ball of the Final, the VORTEXAC23+, was revealed. The ball builds on the design of the VORTEXAC23 and uses a predominantly gold and maroon colour scheme "to reflect the prestige of competing for the AFC Asian Cup title".^[29]

Official song

The official song of the tournament, "Hadaf", by Humood AlKhudher and Fahad Al Hajjaji, was released on 1 January 2024.^[30][31]

Mascots

On 2 December 2023, the tournament's official mascots were unveiled at Barahat Msheireb, Doha, through an anime-inspired animation produced by Katara Studios. The mascots are a family of five jerboas named Saboog, Tmbki, Freha, Zkriti and Traeneh, who were also the mascots of the 2011 edition when Qatar last hosted the tournament. The mascots were created by Qatari artist Ahmed Al Maadheed, with the animation directed by Fahad Al Kuwari and the song performed by Qatari artist Dana Al Meer and singer/composer Tarek Al Arabi Tourgane. Four of the five mascots are named after locations in Qatar, while Saboog is derived from the term used to refer to a jerboa in Qatar. The mascots were each created with different characteristics, akin to the different roles players undertake during a football match, and made to resemble a traditional household in Qatar.^[32][33]

Official video game

On 11 January 2024, Konami has released a short trailer of the 2023 AFC Asian Cup game mode, and announced that it will be added to the latest release of its football video game series - eFootball 2024, in the upcoming updates. This mode will feature fully licensed tournament teams, licensed trophy and visuals.^[34]

Ticket sales

The first batch of tickets for the tournament - with more than 150,000 tickets had been sold out in just a week, since sales began on 10 October 2023.^[35] Another 90,000 tickets of the second batch have been sold within the first 24 hours since being released on 19 November 2023. Fans from Qatar, Saudi Arabia, Philippines, and India bought the majority of tickets offered. In addition to the opening match between Qatar and Lebanon, the match between Saudi Arabia and Oman also led ticket sales.^[36]

Prices for match tickets start from as low as QAR 25 (approximately USD6.8) to enable greater access for the millions of fans.^[37]

On 20 November 2023, the Local Organising Committee (LOC) of the tournament has announced that it will donate revenue from ticket sales to support emergency relief for Palestine, amidst the ongoing Israel–Hamas war.^[38][39]

On 10 January 2024, the LOC announced that nearly one million tickets have been sold for the tournament.^[40]

eSports tournament

On 8 December 2023, the AFC has announced that it will unveil the inaugural edition of AFC eAsian Cup, from 1 to 5 February 2024. This eSports tournament will be played on Konami's football video game - eFootball 2024. It marks the confederation’s first foray into the world of esports. Taking place in Doha, the event will feature 20 AFC Member Associations, who are competing in the Asian Cup.^[41][42]

Prize money

Total prize money pool for the tournament is US$14,800,000, the same as it was in the 2019 edition. The champions would receive US$5 million, the runners-up will receive US$3 million, and the losing semi-finalists would receive US$1 million. All 24 participating teams would also receive US$200,000.^[43][44]

Sponsorship

Official Global Partners

• Continental AG^[45]
• Credit Saison^[46]
• Neom^[47]
• Qatar Airways^[48]
• Visit Saudi^[49]
• Yili Group^[50]

Official Global Supporters

• Kelme^[51]
• Konami (eFootball)^[52]

Official Regional Partner

• Pepperstone^[53]
• Visa^[54]

Official Hospitality Provider

• MATCH Hospitality (Asia)^[55]

Official Video and Data Distribution Partner

• Sportradar^[56]

Broadcasting rights

The broadcasters around the world that have acquired the rights to the tournament include:

Territory	Broadcaster(s)	Ref
Afghanistan	1TV, Meraj TV, SOLH TV	[57]
Armenia	TV Start	[58]
Australia	Paramount+[a], Network 10 (Australia matches only)	[59]
Austria	Sportdigital	[60]
Azerbaijan	TV Start	[58]
Bangladesh	T Sports	[61]
Belarus	TV Start	[58]
Belgium	Triller TV	[57]
Bhutan	Football Sports Development Limited	[62]
Bosnia and Herzegovina	Sport Klub	[63]
Brazil	ESPN	[64]
Bulgaria	Diema Sport	[63]
Cambodia	Hang Meas	[57][65]
Canada	Paramount+	[66]
Caribbean	ESPN	[64]
China	IQIYI Sports, Migu, CCTV	[57][67][68]
Croatia	Sport Klub	[63]
East Timor	MNC Media	[69]
Estonia	TV Start	[58]
Finland	C More Sport	[70]
France	Triller TV	[57]
Germany	Sportdigital	[60]
Georgia	Silk Sport	[57]
Guam	Paramount+	[71]
Hong Kong	HOY TV	[72]
India	Sports18[b], DD Sports (India, Semi-finals and Final matches only)	[57]
Indonesia	MNC Media	[69]
In-flight/In-ship	Sport 24	[73]
Iran	IRIB Varzesh	[57]
Iraq	Alrabiaa	[74]
Ireland	Triller TV	[57]
Israel	Sport 5	[57]
Italy	OneFootball	[57]
Ivory Coast	RTI	[57]
Japan	DAZN[c], TV Asahi (selected Japan matches only)	[75][76]
Kazakhstan	Sport+	[57][77]
Kenya	Azam Sports	[57]
Kyrgyzstan	KTRK	[57]
Laos	KJSMWorld	[65]
Latin America	ESPN	[57][64]
Latvia	TV Start	[58]
Liechtenstein	Sportdigital	[60]
Lithuania	TV Start	[58]
Luxembourg	Sportdigital	[60]
Macau	M Plus Live	[78]
Malawi	Azam Sports	[57]
Malaysia	Astro SuperSport (All matches), RTM (Malaysia matches only)	[57][79][80]
Maldives	PSM	[81]
MENA	beIN Sports	[82][83]
Moldova	TV Start	[58]
Mongolia	Premier Sports	[84]
Montenegro	Sport Klub	[63]
Myanmar	Canal+	[85]
Nepal	Football Sports Development Limited	[62]
Netherlands	Triller TV	[57]
North Macedonia	Sport Klub	[63]
Northern Mariana Islands	Paramount+	[71]
Oceania	YouTube (free)	[57]
Portugal	Sport TV	[57]
Puerto Rico	Paramount+, CBS Sports	[66]
Qatar	Al Kass	[57]
Romania	Antena	[86]
Russia	TV Start	[58]
San Marino	OneFootball	[57]
Saudi Arabia	Shahid, SSC	[87]
Serbia	Sport Klub	[63]
Singapore	Mediacorp	[57]
Slovenia	Sport Klub	[63]
South Korea	CJ ENM, Coupang	[88][89]
Sri Lanka	Football Sports Development Limited	[62]
Sub-Saharan Africa	StarTimes	[57]
Sweden	C More Sport	[70]
Switzerland	Sportdigital	[60]
Taiwan	ELTA	[90]
Tajikistan	TV Varzish, TV Football	[57]
Tanzania	Azam Sports	[57]
Thailand	PPTV, T Sports 7	[91][92]
Turkmenistan	Turkmenistan Sport	[57]
Uganda	Azam Sports	[57]
Ukraine	Sport1	[57]
United Arab Emirates	Abu Dhabi Media	[93]
United Kingdom	Triller TV	[57]
United States	Paramount+, CBS Sports	[66]
Uzbekistan	MTRK	[57]
Vietnam	FPT, VTV	[94][95][96][97]
Zimbabwe	Azam Sports	[57]

See also

• 2024 AFC U-23 Asian Cup
• 2023 AFC U-20 Asian Cup
• 2023 AFC U-17 Asian Cup
• 2023 CONCACAF Gold Cup

Notes

References

External links

• Official website (the-AFC.com)