24 Nations, 1 Trophy
ASIAN CUP
January 12. – February 10.
Qatar has the home advantage to defend their crown.
South Korea, Iran, Saudi Arabia, and Japan have all successfully defended their titles in the past, with Iran achieving this feat three times in a row. The question now is whether Qatar can replicate this achievement this year.
Iran and Saudi Arabia are one championship victory away from matching Japan’s four-title record in the competition. Given that Japan is coming into this tournament as a favorite, it would not be a surprise if they extend their dominance with a fifth Asian Cup title at the end of this tournament.
TITLES:
4 titles: Japan
3 titles: Saudi Arabia
3 titles: Iran
2 titles: South Korea
1 title: Australia, Israel, Iraq, Kuwait, and Qatar
South Korea (1956)
South Korea (1960)
Israel (1964)
Iran (1968)
Iran (1972)
Iran (1976)
Kuwait (1980)
Saudi Arabia (1984)
Saudi Arabia (1988)
Japan (1992)
Saudi Arabia (1996)
Japan (2000)
Japan (2004)
Iraq (2007)
Japan (2011)
Australia (2015)
Qatar (2019)
In the last three tournaments, the defending champions have been eliminated in the quarterfinals. Japan (2004) was the last time a defending champion won. The last time a host nation won was Australia in 2015.
IN THE MOST RECENT EDITION:
Australia: Quarterfinalists, losing to the United Arab Emirates 1-0.
Bahrain: Knocked out in the Round of 16 after losing 2-1 to South Korea.
China: Quarterfinalists, losing to Iran 3-0.
India: Finished at the bottom of their group but managed a ‘4-1’ win against Thailand in their opening fixture.
Iran: Semifinalists, losing to Japan ‘3-0’.
Iraq: Knocked out in the Round of 16 after losing 1-0 to Qatar.
Japan: Runners-up, losing to Qatar in the final.
Jordan: Knocked out in the Round of 16 stage by Vietnam through penalty shootouts.
Kyrgyzstan: Knocked out in the Round of 16 after losing 3-2 to the United Arab Emirates.
Lebanon: Failed to advance from the group after finishing third, with one win coming from a ‘4-1’ victory over North Korea.
Oman: Knocked out in the Round of 16 after losing 2-0 to Iran.
Palestine: Failed to advance from the group after finishing third, with no wins and points coming from two goalless draws.
Philippines: Information missing.
Qatar: Won the title by beating Japan 3-1.
Saudi Arabia: Knocked out in the Round of 16 by Japan, 1-0.
South Korea: Quarterfinalists, losing to Qatar 1-0.
Syria: Finished at the bottom of their group, with their only point coming from a goalless draw with Palestine.
Thailand: Knocked out by China in the Round of 16, ‘2-1’.
United Arab Emirates: Semifinalists, losing to Qatar ‘4-0’.
Uzbekistan: Knocked out in the Round of 16 after playing out a goalless draw and losing in a penalty shootout with Australia.
Vietnam: Quarterfinalists, losing to Japan 1-0.
GROUPS:
Group A: China / Lebanon / Qatar / Tajikistan
Group B: Australia / India / Syria / Uzbekistan
Group C: Hong Kong / Iran / Palestine / United Arab Emirates
Group D: Indonesia / Iraq / Japan / Vietnam
Group E: Bahrain / Jordan / Malaysia / South Korea
Group F: Kyrgyzstan / Oman / Saudi Arabia / Thailand
GROUP STAGE FIXTURES
Friday, January 12, 2024
Qatar vs. Lebanon (GROUP A)
Saturday, January 13, 2024
China vs. Tajikistan (GROUP A)
Australia vs. India (GROUP B)
Uzbekistan vs. Syria (GROUP B)
Sunday, January 14, 2024
United Arab Emirates vs. Hong Kong (GROUP C)
Iran vs. Palestine (GROUP C)
Japan vs. Vietnam (GROUP D)
Monday, January 15, 2024
Indonesia vs. Iraq (GROUP D)
South Korea vs. Bahrain (GROUP E)
Malaysia vs. Jordan (GROUP E)
Tuesday, January 16, 2024
Thailand vs. Kyrgyzstan (GROUP F)
Saudi Arabia vs. Oman (GROUP F)
Wednesday, January 17, 2024
Lebanon vs. China (GROUP A)
Tajikistan vs. Qatar (GROUP A)
Thursday, January 18, 2024
Syria vs. Australia (GROUP B)
India vs. Uzbekistan (GROUP B)
Palestine vs. United Arab Emirates (GROUP C)
Friday, January 19, 2024
Hong Kong vs. Iran (GROUP C)
Iraq vs. Japan (GROUP D)
Vietnam vs. Indonesia (GROUP D)
Saturday, January 20, 2024
Jordan vs. South Korea (GROUP E)
Bahrain vs. Malaysia (GROUP E)
Sunday, January 21, 2024
Oman vs. Thailand (GROUP F)
Kyrgyzstan vs. Saudi Arabia (GROUP F)
Monday, January 22, 2024
Qatar vs. China (GROUP A)
Tajikistan vs. Lebanon (GROUP A)
Tuesday, January 23, 2024
Australia vs. Uzbekistan (GROUP B)
Syria vs. India (GROUP B)
Iran vs. United Arab Emirates (GROUP C)
Hong Kong vs. Palestine (GROUP C)
Wednesday, January 24, 2024
Japan vs. Indonesia (GROUP D)
Iraq vs. Vietnam (GROUP D)
Thursday, January 25, 2024
South Korea vs. Malaysia (GROUP E)
Jordan vs. Bahrain (GROUP E)
Saudi Arabia vs. Thailand (GROUP F)
Kyrgyzstan vs. Oman (GROUP F)
A few record holders:
TOP GOALSCORERS:
Ali Daei (14) has four more goals than the next person on the list of top scorers in Asian Cup history. Daei is currently five goals ahead of the closest active player. Ali Mabkhout of the United Arab Emirates and Almoez Ali of Qatar both have nine goals each and have the opportunity to add to their totals. Sardar Azmoun of Iran has six goals
Ali Daei (Iran) - 14 goals Lee Dong-gook (South Korea) - 10 goals Naohiro Takahara (Japan) - 9 goals Ali Mabkhout (United Arab Emirates) - 9 goals Almoez Ali (Qatar) - 9 goals Jasem Al-Huwaidi (Kuwait) - 8 goals Younis Mahmoud (Iraq) - 8 goals Hossein Kalani (Iran) - 7 goals Faisal Al-Dakhil (Kuwait) - 7 goals Behtash Fariba (Iran) - 7 goals Choi Soon-ho (South Korea) - 7 goals Yasser Al-Qahtani (Saudi Arabia) - 6 goals Alexander Geynrikh (Uzbekistan) - 6 goals Tim Cahill (Australia) - 6 goals Ahmed Khalil (United Arab Emirates) - 6 goals Sardar Azmoun (Iran) - 6 goals
POTT – PLAYER OF THE TOURNAMENT:
1972 – Ebrahim Ashtiani (Iran)
1976 – Ali Parvin (Iran)
1980 – Not Awarded.
1984 – Jia Xiuquan (China)
1988 – Kim Joo-sung (South Korea)
1992 – Kazuyoshi Miura (Japan)
1996 – Khodadad Azizi (Iran)
2000 – Hiroshi Nanami (Japan)
2004 – Shunsuke Nakamura (Japan)
2007 – Younis Mahmoud (Iraq)
2011 – Keisuke Honda (Japan)
2015 – Massimo Luongo (Australia)
2019 – Almoez Ali (Qatar)
Most title won by a player: Parviz Ghelichkhani (3) Iran 1968, 1972, 1976
FIFA’s RANKINGS:
Based on FIFA’s World rankings, Japan, Iran, South Korea, and Australia are the favorites to win the tournament. Other contenders include Saudi Arabia, Qatar, Iraq, the United Arab Emirates, and Uzbekistan.
17. Japan (Group D)
21. Iran (Group C)
23. South Korea (Group E)
25. Australia (Group B)
56. Saudi Arabia (Group F)
58. Qatar (Group A)
63. Iraq (Group D)
64. United Arab Emirates (Group C)
68. Uzbekistan (Group B)
74. Oman (Group F)
79. China (Group A)
86. Bahrain (Group E)
87. Jordan (Group E)
91. Syria (Group B)
94. Vietnam (Group D)
98. Kyrgyzstan (Group F)
99. Palestine (Group C)
102. India (Group B)
106. Tajikistan (Group A)
107. Lebanon (Group A)
113. Thailand (Group F)
130. Malaysia (Group E)
146. Indonesia (Group D)
150. Hong Kong (Group C)
