2023 AFC Asian Cup


The 2023 AFC Asian Cup was the 18th edition of the AFC Asian Cup, the quadrennial international football tournament organised by the Asian Football Confederation. It involved 24 national teams after its expansion in 2019, with hosts [Qatar national Association football|football team|Qatar] the defending champions.
On 17 October 2022, the AFC announced that the tournament would be held in Qatar, replacing the original hosts China. 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. The 2023 tournament were the second of three consecutive Asian Cup to be held in Middle East, following the 2019 AFC Asian Cup in United Arab Emirates and preceding the 2027 AFC Asian Cup in Saudi Arabia. This marked the first time a country hosted the AFC Asian Cup having hosted the FIFA World Cup before. Due to the one-year postponement, Qatar 2023 was the only tournament to not have been held in an odd-numbered year since the 2007 edition.
Hosts and defending champions Qatar retained their title after defeating Jordan 3–1 in the final.
WWW the-afc.com/competitions/...

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. The tournament was originally scheduled to be held from 16 June to 16 July 2023. 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. Due to China's relinquishment of its hosting rights, the AFC conducted a second round of bidding, with a deadline for submissions scheduled on 17 October 2022. Four nations submitted bids: Australia, Indonesia, Qatar, and South Korea. However, Australia subsequently withdrew in September 2022, as did Indonesia on 15 October. On 17 October, the AFC announced that Qatar had won the bid and would host the tournament.

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. On 21 August 2023, Lusail Stadium was added as a ninth venue. All but one 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. Ahmad bin Ali Stadium in Al Rayyan and Al Thumama Stadium in Doha hosted the semi-final matches, with Lusail hosted the final held on 10 February.
On 5 January 2024, the Main Media Centre for the coverage of the tournament was officially inaugurated in Msheireb Downtown Doha.
CityStadiumCapacityImage
Al KhorAl Bayt Stadium68,890
LusailLusail Stadium88,960
Al RayyanAhmad bin Ali Stadium45,030
Al RayyanEducation City Stadium44,660
Al RayyanJassim bin Hamad Stadium15,000
Al RayyanKhalifa International Stadium45,850
DohaAbdullah bin Khalifa Stadium10,000
DohaAl Thumama Stadium44,400
Al WakrahAl Janoub Stadium44,320

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.

Qualified teams

Of the 24 teams appearing, 20 teams were returning after appearing in the 2019 edition.
Tajikistan were the only debutant in the competition, while Hong Kong marked 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 failed to qualify. India was the only SAFF representative in this edition, while it was the first time that five teams from the AFF managed to reach the finals. Only two teams from WAFF failed to qualify for this tournament. Iran meanwhile extended their qualification record; this was their fifteenth straight appearance in the tournament, having qualified for every edition since 1968.
As of 2025, this was the last time that Hong Kong and India qualified for the Asian Cup, and the last time that Kuwait, North Korea and Singapore failed to qualify.
TeamMethod of
qualification		Date of
qualification		Finals
appearance		Last
appearance		Previous best
performance
13th2019
10th2019
7th2019
, later appointed hosts11th2019
15th2019
5th2019
15th2019
11th2019
11th2019
10th2019
5th2019
5th2019
3rd2019
3rd2019
8th2019
8th2019
5th2019
4th1968
1stDebut-
2nd2019
7th2019
4th2007
5th2019
5th2007

Draw

The draw was held at the Katara Opera House in Doha on 11 May 2023.
Pot 1Pot 2Pot 3Pot 4















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.
The groups were confirmed following the draw:
Team
A1
A2
A3
A4

Team
B1
B2
B3
B4

Team
C1
C2
C3
C4

Team
D1
D2
D3
D4

Team
E1
E2
E3
E4

Team
F1
F2
F3
F4

Squads

Each team was required to registered a squad with a minimum of 18 players and a maximum of 23 players, at least three of whom had to be goalkeepers. In December 2023, the maximum was increased to 26 players.

Officiating

On 14 September 2023, the AFC announced the list of 33 referees, 37 assistant referees, two stand-by referees and eight stand-by assistant referees for the tournament, including two female referees and three female assistant referees. Video Assistant Referee was used for the entire tournament following its implementation from the quarter-final stage onwards in the 2019 edition. The Semi-Automated Offside Technology system, which utilized twelve specialized cameras and artificial intelligence, was also implemented at all 51 matches. This marked the first time that SAOT was in place at an AFC competition and made the AFC the first confederation to apply the system at the continental men's national team level.
;Referees
;Assistant referees
  • Ashley Beecham
  • Anton Shchetinin
  • Zhang Cheng
  • Zhou Fei
  • Alireza Ildorom
  • Saeid Ghasemi
  • Ahmed Al-Baghdadi
  • Watheq Al-Swaiedi
  • Makoto Bozono
  • Jun Mihara
  • Takumi Takagi
  • Naomi Teshirogi
  • Mohammad Al-Kalaf
  • Ahmad Al-Roalle
  • Ahmad Abbas
  • Abdulhadi Al-Anezi
  • Mohd Arif Shamil Bin Abd Rasid
  • Mohamad Zairul Bin Khalil Tan
  • Abu Bakar Al-Amri
  • Rashid Al-Ghaithi
  • Saoud Al-Maqaleh
  • Taleb Al-Marri
  • Zaid Al-Shammari
  • Yasir Al-Sultan
  • Abdul Hannan Bin Abdul Hasim
  • Ronnie Koh Min Kiat
  • Kim Kyoung-min
  • Park Sang-jun
  • Yoon Jae-yeol
  • Ali Ahmad
  • Mohamad Kazzaz
  • Tanate Chuchuen
  • Rawut Nakarit
  • Mohamed Al-Hammadi
  • Hasan Al-Mahri
  • Timur Gaynullin
  • Andrey Tsapenko
;Stand-by referees
;Stand-by assistant referees
  • Cao Yi
  • Cheung Yim Yau
  • Ismail Al-Hafi
  • Saad Al-Fadhli
  • Abdulrahman Hussein
  • Mohammed Al-Abakry
  • John Chia Eng Wah
  • Farkhad Abdullaev

Opening ceremony

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

Group stage

Tiebreakers

Teams were ranked according to [three three points for a win|points for a win|points], and if tied on points, the following tiebreaking criteria were applied, in the order given, to determine the rankings:
  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 were still tied, all head-to-head criteria above were 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 were tied and they played each other in the last round of the group;
  8. Disciplinary points ;
  9. Drawing of lots.

Group A

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Group B

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Group C

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Group D

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Group E

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Group F

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Ranking of third-placed teams

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

Knockout stage

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

Bracket

''All times are local, AST.''

Round of 16

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Quarter-finals

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Semi-finals

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Statistics

Discipline

A player was automatically suspended for the next match for the following offences:
  • Receiving a red card
  • Receiving two yellow cards in two matches
  • After reaching the semi-finals, all yellow cards and red cards received are reset. This means that even if a player receives a yellow card in the semi-finals, any previous cards won't count, allowing them to participate in the final
The following suspensions occurred during the tournament:
Player/OfficialOffenceSuspension
Hazza AliPositive doping sample after Group E match vs South Korea Group E vs Jordan
Amadoni Kamolov in Group A vs Qatar Group A vs Lebanon
Round of 16 vs United Arab Emirates
Quarter-final vs Jordan
Pedro Miguel in Group A vs Lebanon
in Group A vs Tajikistan 		Group A vs China
Khalifa Al Hammadi in Group C vs Palestine Group C vs Iran
Paulo Bento in Group C vs Palestine Group C vs Iran
Lê Phạm Thành Long in Group D vs Indonesia Group D vs Iraq
Theerathon Bunmathan in Group F vs Kyrgyzstan
in Group F vs Oman 		Group F vs Saudi Arabia
Ayzar Akmatov
Kimi Merk		 in Group F vs Saudi Arabia Group F vs Oman
Kassem El Zein in Group A vs Tajikistan Suspension served outside the tournament
Hossein Kanaanizadegan in Group C vs Palestine
in Group C vs UAE 		Round of 16 vs Syria
Khuất Văn Khang in Group D vs Iraq Suspension served outside the tournament
Aymen Hussein in Round of 16 vs Jordan Suspension served outside the tournament
Hamza Al-Dardour in Round of 16 vs Iraq Quarter-final vs Tajikistan
Nizar Al-Rashdan in Group E vs Malaysia
in Round of 16 vs Iraq 		Quarter-final vs Tajikistan
Abdukodir Khusanov in Group B vs Syria
in Round of 16 vs Thailand 		Quarter-final vs Qatar
Mehdi Taremi in Round of 16 vs Syria Quarter-final vs Japan
Salem Al-Ajalin
Ali Olwan		 in Group E vs Bahrain
in Quarter-final vs Tajikistan 		Semi-final vs South Korea
Kim Min-jae in Group E vs Bahrain
in Quarter-final vs Australia 		Semi-final vs Jordan
Aiden O'Neill in Quarter-final vs South Korea Suspension served outside the tournament
Khalid Muneer in Group A vs China
in Quarter-final vs Uzbekistan 		Semi-final vs Iran
Shojae Khalilzadeh in Semi-final vs Qatar Suspension served outside the tournament

Awards

;Most Valuable Player
;Top Goalscorer
;Best Goalkeeper
;Fair Play Award
;Team of the Tournament
PresentersGoalkeepersDefendersMidfieldersForwards
Social networking service Meshaal Barsham Abdallah Nasib
Ali Al-Bulaihi
Lucas Mendes		 Mehdi Ghayedi
Craig Goodwin
Hassan Al-Haydos
Lee Kang-in		 Akram Afif
Aymen Hussein
Yazan Al-Naimat
Technical Study Group Meshaal Barsham
Yazeed Abulaila
Mathew Ryan		 Yazan Al-Arab
Aziz Behich
Ihsan Haddad
Vahdat Hanonov
Kim Min-jae
Lucas Mendes
Abdallah Nasib		 Hassan Al-Haydos
Wataru Endō
Saeid Ezatolahi
Jackson Irvine
Alireza Jahanbakhsh
Ahmed Fatehi
Abbosbek Fayzullaev		 Akram Afif
Almoez Ali
Yazan Al-Naimat
Sardar Azmoun
Lee Kang-in
Jaloliddin Masharipov
Son Heung-min
Musa Al-Taamari
Mehdi Taremi

;Goal of the Tournament

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 featured 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 was colored in Qatar's national color, maroon, while the logo's tail featured an Arabic nuqta.
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.

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 rigorously tested the ball's performance, ensuring its durability, quality, and readiness.
On 20 December 2023, the official match ball of the final, the VORTEXAC23+, was revealed. The ball built on the design of the VORTEXAC23 and used a predominantly gold and maroon colour scheme "to reflect the prestige of competing for the AFC Asian Cup title."

Official song

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

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 were 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 were named after locations in Qatar, while Saboog was 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.

Official video game

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

eSports tournament

On 8 December 2023, the AFC announced that it would unveil the inaugural edition of AFC eAsian Cup, which was held from 1 to 5 February 2024. This eSports tournament was played on Konami's football video game - eFootball 2024. It marked the confederation's first foray into the world of eSports. Taking place at the Virtuocity eSports Arena in Doha, the event featured participants from twenty AFC member associations, who were competing in the Asian Cup.
On 6 February 2024, Indonesia won the first ever AFC eAsian Cup, winning 2–0 against Japan in the final.

Ticket sales

The first batch of tickets for the tournament, with more than 150,000 tickets, were sold out in just a week, since sales began on 10 October 2023. Another 90,000 tickets of the second batch were sold within the first 24 hours of being released on 19 November 2023. Fans from Qatar, Saudi Arabia, the Philippines, Indonesia 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.
Prices for match tickets started from as low as QAR 25 to enable greater access for the millions of fans.
On 20 November 2023, the Local Organising Committee of the tournament announced that it would donate revenue from ticket sales to support emergency relief for Palestine, amidst the ongoing Gaza war.
On 10 January 2024, the LOC announced that nearly one million tickets had been sold for the tournament.
Ahead of the semi-final clash between Qatar and Iran, the Iranian federation complained of only 4 percent of the seats having been allocated to Iranian supporters, even though AFC regulations stated 8 percent needed to be allocated.

Prize money

Total prize money pool for the tournament was US$14,800,000, the same as it was in the 2019 edition. The champions received US$5 million, the runners-up received US$3 million, and the losing semi-finalists received US$1 million each. All 24 teams also received US$200,000 for their participation in the tournament.

Sponsorship

;Official Global Partners
;Official Global Supporters
;Official Regional Partner
; Official Hospitality Provider
  • MATCH Hospitality
Official Video and Data Distribution Partner

Broadcasting rights

The broadcasters around the world that acquired the rights to the tournament included:
TerritoryBroadcasterRef.
Armenia