AFC Asian Cup 2023: A Preview
The 18th edition of the AFC Asian Cup 2023 starts on Friday, January 12. Host nation Qatar must try to defend its title, while strong teams such as Japan, South Korea and Australia will challenge them. Record holder Egypt hopes to win an 8th title and make a good start towards the World Cup in 2026. Read below which countries have the best chances of taking the cup home.
AFC Asian Cup 2023
The continental football championship has been played in Asia every four years since 1956. It is remarkable that in the first edition there were only four participants in the final round. The field of participants has been expanded several times over the years, and since 2019, 24 teams have been allowed to duel in the final round of the AFC Asian Cup. AFC stands for ‘Asian Football Confederation’, the Asian football association with 47 members.
As recently as 2019, it was announced that China would be the host country for the tournament. The championship was also to be played from June 16 to July 16 in 2023. But due to China’s corona policy, the AFC chose not to hold the tournament there. A new round was held in 2022, for which Qatar, South Korea, Australia and Indonesia placed their bids. However, the latter two withdrew their bids, and Qatar was subsequently chosen over South Korea. The tournament had to be postponed to January due to the high temperatures in Qatar and their participation in the CONCACAF Gold Cup.
With the exception of one stadium, all stadiums used during the 2022 World Cup will also be used for the Asian Cup. The most important and largest of these is the Lusail Stadium, where the first and last matches will be played. It is also the stadium where France and Argentina played the final of the 2022 World Cup, and where Lionel Messi eventually won the cup.
Teams
As mentioned earlier, the Asian Championship, like the World Cup, will be played in Qatar. The small country won its first Asian Cup during the previous edition in 2019, and therefore faces the very difficult task of defending its title. In the first match on Friday, January 12, they will play against Lebanon. Qatar will face China, Tajikistan and Lebanon in Group A.
The record holder with 4 gold medals is Japan, and at number 17 in the FIFA rankings it is the highest ranked Asian team. Coach Hajime Moriyasu wants to send Japan to the final round of a World Cup again, and hopes to put them on the right track with an Asian Cup title. They play with a team that consists almost exclusively of players who play in Europe, with only 5 footballers from the Japanese J. League. The Japanese face Indonesia, Iraq and Vietnam in group D.
Another favorite for the title is Australia. The ‘Socceroos’ were able to win the Asian Cup before, when they were also the host country in 2015. In the 2022 World Cup, the Australians failed in the eighth finals, when they lost 2-1 to Argentina. In Group B, Australia is preparing to play against Uzbekistan, India and Syria.
South Korea also has a chance to win the title. Although they have not been able to win the tournament for over sixty years, they left 2023 with five consecutive wins and 19 goals. The South Koreans are also the only team in the tournament with a player who was on the Ballon d’Or list: Kim Min-Jae, defender at Bayern Munich. He was the highest ranked defender after leading Napoli to their first Serie A title since Diego Maradona. The South Korean attack is made up of Son Heung-Min and Hwang Hee-Chan, both of whom are in the Premier League’s top 6 goalscorers. South Korea plays in group E against Malaysia, Jordan and Bahrain.
The only debutant this year is Tajikistan. This team is also undefeated in five games, with victories against Hong Kong and Pakistan, among others. Hong Kong is participating again this year, for the first time in 56 years. Hong Kong plays in group C against the United Arab Emirates and the Palestinian national football team. In addition, Indonesia and Malaysia have qualified for the first time since they were joint hosts in 2007. Group F finally consists of Saudi Arabia, Thailand, Kyrgyzstan and Oman.
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