2023 AFC Asian Cup

The 2023 AFC Asian Cup will be the 18th edition of the AFC Asian Cup, the quadrennial international men's football championship of Asia organised by the Asian Football Confederation (AFC). It will involve 24 national teams after expansion in 2019, with Qatar as the defending champions.[1][2]

2023 AFC Asian Cup
AFC Asian Cup Qatar 2023
كأس آسيا 2023
Tournament details
Host countryQatar
Dates12 January – 10 February 2024
Teams24 (from 1 confederation)
Venue(s)9 (in 5 host cities)

On 17 October 2022, the AFC announced that the tournament will be held in Qatar.[3] Due to the high summer temperatures in the Persian Gulf and Qatar's participation in the 2023 CONCACAF Gold Cup, the tournament was postponed to 12 January – 10 February 2024.[4][5]

Host selection

China was announced as the winning bid on 4 June 2019, 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 circumstances caused by 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] and 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 prepared for the 2022 FIFA World Cup. On 5 April 2023, AFC announced 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 tournament previously.

Lusail Stadium, Lusail will host 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; and Lusail Stadium will host the final which will be held on 10 February.[16]

Qatar
City Stadium Capacity
Al Khor Al Bayt Stadium 68,895
Lusail Lusail Stadium 88,996
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

  Qualified for Asian Cup
  Failed to qualify
  Disqualified or withdrew
  Not an AFC member

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

Qualified teams

Team Method of
qualification
Date of
qualification
Finals
appearances
Last
appearance
Previous best
performance
 ChinaOriginal host and second round Group A runners-up4 June 2019[lower-alpha 1]13th2019Runners-up (1984, 2004)
 JapanSecond round Group F winners28 May 202110th2019Winners (1992, 2000, 2004, 2011)
 SyriaSecond round Group A winners7 June 20217th2019Group stage (1980, 1984, 1988, 1996, 2011, 2019)
 QatarSecond round Group E winners and host7 June 202111th2019Winners (2019)
 South KoreaSecond round Group H winners9 June 202115th2019Winners (1956, 1960)
 AustraliaSecond round Group B winners11 June 20215th2019Winners (2015)
 IranSecond round Group C winners15 June 202115th2019Winners (1968, 1972, 1976)
 Saudi ArabiaSecond round Group D winners15 June 202111th2019Winners (1984, 1988, 1996)
 United Arab EmiratesSecond round Group G winners15 June 202111th2019Runners-up (1996)
 IraqSecond round Group C runners-up15 June 202110th2019Winners (2007)
 OmanSecond round Group E runners-up15 June 20215th2019Round of 16 (2019)
 VietnamSecond round Group G runners-up15 June 20215th2019Fourth place (1956[lower-alpha 2], 1960[lower-alpha 2])
 LebanonSecond round Group H runners-up15 June 20213rd2019Group stage (2000, 2019)
 PalestineThird round Group B winners14 June 20223rd2019Group stage (2015, 2019)
 UzbekistanThird round Group C winners14 June 20228th2019Fourth place (2011)
 ThailandThird round Group C runners-up14 June 20228th2019Third place (1972)
 IndiaThird round Group D winners14 June 20225th2019Runners-up (1964)
 Hong KongThird round Group D runners-up14 June 20224th1968Third place (1956)
 TajikistanThird round Group F winners14 June 20221stDebutNone
 KyrgyzstanThird round Group F runners-up14 June 20222nd2019Round of 16 (2019)
 BahrainThird round Group E winners14 June 20227th2019Fourth place (2004)
 MalaysiaThird round Group E runners-up14 June 20224th2007Group stage (1976, 1980, 2007)
 JordanThird round Group A winners14 June 20225th2019Quarter-finals (2004, 2011)
 IndonesiaThird round Group A runners-up14 June 20225th2007Group stage (1996, 2000, 2004, 2007)

Draw

The draw was held in Katara Opera House in Doha on 11 May 2023 at 14:00 AST (UTC+3).[17]

From the April 2023 FIFA World Rankings[18]
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 consecutively into Group 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 group stage as happened 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 draw resulted in the following groups:

Group A
PosTeam
A1 Qatar
A2 China
A3 Tajikistan
A4 Lebanon
Group B
PosTeam
B1 Australia
B2 Uzbekistan
B3 Syria
B4 India
Group C
PosTeam
C1 Iran
C2 United Arab Emirates
C3 Hong Kong
C4 Palestine
Group D
PosTeam
D1 Japan
D2 Indonesia
D3 Iraq
D4 Vietnam
Group E
PosTeam
E1 South Korea
E2 Malaysia
E3 Jordan
E4 Bahrain
Group F
PosTeam
F1 Saudi Arabia
F2 Thailand
F3 Kyrgyzstan
F4 Oman

Squads

Each team had to register a squad with a minimum of 18 players and a maximum of 23 players, at least three of whom must be goalkeepers.[19]

Match officials

On 14 September 2023, the AFC announced the list of 33 referees, 37 assistant referees, two stand-by referees and two stand-by assistant referees, including two female referees and three female assistant referees. Video assistant referees (VAR) will also be used for the entire tournament following its implementation from the quarter-final stage onwards in the 2019 edition.[20]

Referees
Assistant referees
  • Australia Ashley Beecham
  • Australia Anton Shchetinin
  • China Zhang Cheng
  • China Zhou Fei
  • Iran Alireza Ildorom
  • Iran Saeid Ghasemi
  • Iraq Ahmed Al-Baghdadi
  • Iraq Watheq Al-Swaiedi
  • Japan Makoto Bozono
  • Japan Jun Mihara
  • Japan Takumi Takagi
  • Japan Naomi Teshirogi
  • Jordan Mohammad Al-Kalaf
  • Jordan Ahmad Al-Roalle
  • South Korea Kim Kyoung-min
  • South Korea Park Sang-jun
  • South Korea Yoon Jae-yeol
  • Kuwait Ahmad Abbas
  • Kuwait Abdulhadi Al-Anezi
  • Malaysia Mohd Arif Shamil Bin Abd Rasid
  • Malaysia Mohamad Zairul Bin Khalil Tan
  • Oman Abu Bakar Al-Amri
  • Oman Rashid Al-Ghaithi
  • Qatar Saoud Al-Maqaleh
  • Qatar Taleb Al-Marri
  • Saudi Arabia Zaid Al-Shammari
  • Saudi Arabia Yasir Al-Sultan
  • Singapore Abdul Hannan Bin Abdul Hasim
  • Singapore Ronnie Koh Min Kiat
  • Syria Ali Ahmad
  • Syria Mohamad Kazzaz
  • Thailand Tanate Chuchuen
  • Thailand Rawut Nakarit
  • United Arab Emirates Mohamed Al-Hammadi
  • United Arab Emirates Hasan Al-Mahri
  • Uzbekistan Timur Gaynullin
  • Uzbekistan Andrey Tsapenko
Stand-by referees
  • Saudi Arabia Majed Al-Shamrani
  • Tajikistan Sadullo Gulmurodi
Stand-by assistant referees
  • China Cao Yi
  • Saudi Arabia Mohammed Al-Abakry

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 were 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 Pld W D L GF GA GD Pts Qualification
1  Qatar (H) 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 Advance to knockout stage
2  China 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0
3  Tajikistan 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 Possible knockout stage
4  Lebanon 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0
First match(es) will be played: 12 January 2024. Source:
(H) Hosts
Qatar Match 1 Lebanon
China Match 3 Tajikistan

Lebanon Match 13 China
Tajikistan Match 14 Qatar

Qatar Match 25 China
Tajikistan Match 26 Lebanon

Group B

Pos Team Pld W D L GF GA GD Pts Qualification
1  Australia 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 Advance to knockout stage
2  Uzbekistan 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0
3  Syria 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 Possible knockout stage
4  India 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0
First match(es) will be played: 13 January 2024. Source:
Australia Match 2 India
Uzbekistan Match 4 Syria

Syria Match 15 Australia
India Match 16 Uzbekistan

Australia Match 27 Uzbekistan
Syria Match 28 India

Group C

Pos Team Pld W D L GF GA GD Pts Qualification
1  Iran 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 Advance to knockout stage
2  United Arab Emirates 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0
3  Hong Kong 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 Possible knockout stage
4  Palestine 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0
First match(es) will be played: 14 January 2024. Source:
Iran Match 7 Palestine

Palestine Match 17 United Arab Emirates
Hong Kong Match 20 Iran

Iran Match 29 United Arab Emirates
Hong Kong Match 30 Palestine

Group D

Pos Team Pld W D L GF GA GD Pts Qualification
1  Japan 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 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 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0
First match(es) will be played: 14 January 2024. Source:
Japan Match 5 Vietnam
Indonesia Match 9 Iraq

Iraq Match 18 Japan
Vietnam Match 19 Indonesia

Japan Match 31 Indonesia
Iraq Match 32 Vietnam

Group E

Pos Team Pld W D L GF GA GD Pts Qualification
1  South Korea 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 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 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0
First match(es) will be played: 15 January 2024. Source:
South Korea Match 8 Bahrain
Malaysia Match 10 Jordan

Jordan Match 21 South Korea
Bahrain Match 22 Malaysia

South Korea Match 33 Malaysia
Jordan Match 34 Bahrain

Group F

Pos Team 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
First match(es) will be played: 16 January 2024. Source:
Thailand Match 11 Kyrgyzstan
Saudi Arabia Match 12 Oman

Oman Match 23 Thailand
Kyrgyzstan Match 24 Saudi Arabia

Saudi Arabia Match 35 Thailand
Kyrgyzstan Match 36 Oman

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 Pld W D L GF GA GD Pts Qualification
1 A  Tajikistan 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 Advance to knockout stage
2 B  Syria 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0
3 C  Hong Kong 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0
4 D  Iraq 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0
5 E  Jordan 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0
6 F  Kyrgyzstan 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0
Source:
Rules for classification: 1) Points; 2) Goal difference; 3) Goals scored; 4) Lower disciplinary points total; 5) Drawing of lots.[21]

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:

  Combination according to the four qualified teams
Third-placed teams
qualify from groups
1A
vs
1B
vs
1C
vs
1D
vs
ABCD3C3D3A3B
ABCE3C3A3B3E
ABCF3C3A3B3F
ABDE3D3A3B3E
ABDF3D3A3B3F
ABEF3E3A3B3F
ACDE3C3D3A3E
ACDF3C3D3A3F
ACEF3C3A3F3E
ADEF3D3A3F3E
BCDE3C3D3B3E
BCDF3C3D3B3F
BCEF3E3C3B3F
BDEF3E3D3B3F
CDEF3C3D3F3E

Knockout stage

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

Bracket

 
Round of 16Quarter-finalsSemi-finalsFinal
 
              
 
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

Winner Group BMatch 37Third-place Group A/C/D

Runner-up Group AMatch 38Runner-up Group C

Winner Group DMatch 39Third-place Group B/E/F

Winner Group AMatch 40Third-place Group C/D/E

Runner-up Group BMatch 41Runner-up Group F

Winner Group FMatch 42Runner-up Group E

Winner Group EMatch 43Runner-up Group D

Winner Group CMatch 44Third-place Group A/B/F

Quarter-finals

Winner Match 38Match 45Winner Match 39

Winner Match 37Match 46Winner Match 42

Winner Match 44Match 47Winner Match 43

Winner Match 40Match 48Winner Match 41

Semi-finals

Winner Match 45Match 49Winner Match 46

Winner Match 47Match 50Winner Match 48

Final

Winner Match 49Match 51Winner Match 50

Marketing

Logo and slogan

The official logo of the tournament was 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.[22]

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.[23]

Match ball

The official match ball, the VORTEXAC23, was made by Kelme and unveiled on 10 August 2023.[24]

Sponsorship

Official Global Partners

Official Global Supporters

See also

Notes

  1. China was awarded hosting rights on 4 June 2019. They later finished as second round Group A runners-up on 15 June 2021, which would earn them a qualification regardless of the hosting status. China later withdrew their hosting rights on 14 May 2022.
  2. As South Vietnam

References

  1. "Competition Regulations" (PDF). Asian Football Confederation. Retrieved 8 December 2022.
  2. "Qatar stuns Japan to win Asian Cup". CNN. 2 February 2019. Retrieved 8 December 2022.
  3. "Qatar to host AFC Asian Cup 2023; India and Saudi Arabia shortlisted for 2027 edition". Asian Football Confederation. 17 October 2022. Archived from the original on 17 October 2022. Retrieved 17 October 2022.
  4. "Qatar to host 2023 AFC Asian Cup in January". Doha News. 1 March 2023. Retrieved 6 March 2023.
  5. "Qatar Wins 2023 Asian Cup Bid Just Over A Decade After It Last Hosted The Tournament". Forbes. 17 October 2022. Retrieved 8 December 2022.
  6. "China confirmed as 2023 Asian Cup hosts – AFC". Eurosport. 4 June 2019. Archived from the original on 16 May 2022. Retrieved 4 June 2019.
  7. "AFC Asian Cup China 2023 competition dates confirmed". Asian Football Confederation. 7 January 2021. Archived from the original on 11 May 2021. Retrieved 7 January 2021.
  8. "Important update on AFC Asian Cup 2023 hosts". Asian Football Confederation. 14 May 2022. Archived from the original on 22 September 2022. Retrieved 14 May 2022.
  9. "China withdraw as AFC Asian Cup 2023 hosts". ESPN. 14 May 2022. Archived from the original on 7 June 2022. Retrieved 31 May 2022.
  10. "AFC Seeks New Host for 2023 Asian Cup After China's Withdrawal". 31 May 2022. Archived from the original on 22 September 2022. Retrieved 18 June 2022.
  11. "AFC extends AFC Asian Cup 2023 EoI deadline to July 15, 2022". Asian Football Confederation. 28 June 2022. Archived from the original on 22 September 2022. Retrieved 28 June 2022.
  12. "Four Expressions of Interest received to host AFC Asian Cup 2023". Asian Football Confederation. 18 July 2022. Archived from the original on 22 September 2022. Retrieved 18 July 2022.
  13. "AFC Asian Cup 2023 hosting rights bid update". 2 September 2022.
  14. Skor.id (15 October 2022). Budiman, Aditya (ed.). "Dua Kandidat Tuan Rumah Piala Asia 2023, Indonesia Tersingkir". Tempo.co (in Indonesian). Archived from the original on 15 October 2022. Retrieved 16 October 2022.
  15. "AFC Asian Cup Qatar 2023 Stadiums". the-AFC. Retrieved 5 April 2023.
  16. "#AsianCup2023 adds world-class Lusail Stadium to elevate fan experience". the-AFC.com. Asian Football Confederation. 21 August 2023. Retrieved 21 August 2023.
  17. "Seeding for AFC Asian Cup Qatar 2023 Final Draw confirmed". the-AFC.com. Asian Football Confederation. Retrieved 7 April 2023.
  18. "FIFA World Rankings". FIFA. 6 April 2023.
  19. "AFC Asian Cup China 2023 Competition Regulations". AFC.
  20. "AFC Asian Cup Qatar 2023™: Record 74 match officials named; historic debut for women officials beckons". Asian Football Association. 14 September 2023. Retrieved 14 September 2023.
  21. "AFC Competition Operations Manual (Edition 2023)" (PDF). Asian Football Confederation.
  22. "AFC Asian Cup Qatar 2023 logo revealed". the-AFC.com. Asian Football Confederation. 11 May 2023. Retrieved 11 August 2023.
  23. "#AsianCup2023 100-day countdown: Hayya Asia unveiled as official slogan". the-AFC.com. Asian Football Confederation. 5 October 2023.
  24. "VORTEXAC23: Official Match Ball of the AFC Asian Cup Qatar 2023 unveiled". the-AFC.com. Asian Football Confederation. 10 August 2023. Retrieved 12 August 2023.
  25. "AFC and Continental Tires announce renewal of sponsorship rights deal". the-AFC. Retrieved 13 October 2023.
  26. "AFC and Credit Saison announce renewal of sponsorship rights deal". the-AFC. Retrieved 13 October 2023.
  27. "AFC and NEOM announce four-year global sponsorship rights deal". the-AFC. Retrieved 13 October 2023.
  28. "AFC and Visit Saudi announce global sponsorship rights deal". the-AFC. Retrieved 13 October 2023.
  29. "AFC and Yili announce global sponsorship rights deal". the-AFC. Retrieved 13 October 2023.
  30. "AFC and Kelme announce new global partnership deal". the-AFC. Retrieved 13 October 2023.
  31. "AFC and KONAMI sign new sponsorship and licensing deal". the-AFC. Retrieved 13 October 2023.
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