Qatar became the first back-to-back champions of the AFC Asian Cup when it used three Akraf Afif penalties to beat Cinderella story Jordan in Doha on Saturday.
The 18th edition of the AFC Asian Cup featured a title defense at Lusail Stadium in Doha, as FIFA #87 Jordan could only manage a Yazan Al-Naimat goal while conceding not one, not two, but three penalties to the hosts in the second biggest match to hit the venue, which saw Lionel Messi and Argentina defeat France for the 2022 World Cup Final.
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The final came after a tournament which proved to be general chaos, with favorites South Korea and Japan eliminated and would-be next-ups Saudi Arabia, Australia, and Iran stopped short of the big stage.
Why in January, and who were the favorites?
Reigning champion Qatar is hosting this tournament and it’s pretty hot there in the summer. So it’s been moved to winter, where the Qataris will hope to repeat after claiming their first ever Asian Cup when UAE hosted in 2019. They’ll have to deal with some major powers with big-name stars, as Japan, South Korea, Iran, and Australia are all top-25 teams in FIFA’s Rankings.
[ MORE: Premier League players at the AFC Asian Cup ]
Japan, Saudi Arabia, and South Korea are the most accomplished teams in the tournament’s history. The Saudis and South Korea have been to a joint-best six finals, while Japan’s won the most times with four crowns out of five finals. Iran joins the Saudis with the second-most titles having won thrice. Israel won back in 1964 before it joined UEFA, while Australia, Iraq, and Qatar have all won Asian Cups. China, UAE, India, and Myanmar have all made finals but came up one win short of the trophy.
AFC Asian Cup Final recap: What happened in Qatar?
Iran, Iraq, and hosts Qatar all completed perfect group stages, while favorites Japan and Saudi Arabia advanced to the knockout rounds but had a few bumps along the way.
Japan cruised into the quarters by beating Bahrain, but Iran got all it could handle from Syria and only slipped through in penalties. Iran then fought back from 1-0 down to beat Japan 2-1 and reach the semifinals but they could not get past the defending champs Qatar in a 3-2 thriller that saw the game tied at 1 and 2 before Almoez Ali won it in the 82nd minute.
South Korea needed some late heroics to reach the semifinals. Wolves’ Hwang Hee-chan scored a late penalty kick against Australia to take the game to extra time and then Tottenham’s Heung-min Son scored the winner in the 104th minute as Jurgen Klinsmann’s side were favorites to advance to the final past Jordan. But that’s how this tournament’s gone — Jordan is yet to qualify for a World Cup and hadn’t reached an Asian Cup semifinal until this year. But manager Hussein Ammouta’s men were one win from continental glory.
And Jordan were the better-performing team in the final aside from the three big mistakes that led to penalties — the last two awarded after VAR review. Jordan kept 57% of the ball and out-attempted Qatar 16-8. No matter: Qatar is the fifth nation to win multiple Asian Cups.
AFC Asian Cup video highlights — Qatar vs Jordan video recap
AFC Asian Cup schedule, how to watch the Asian Cup Final live, scores
Dates: January 12 to February 10
How to watch in USA: Paramount+, FuboTV
Video highlights: Via the Asian Football Confederation
Where: Nine stadiums in Qatar — Al Bayt Stadium in Al Khor, Lusail Stadium in Lusail, Al Janoub Stadium in Al Wakrah, Abdullah bin Khalifa Stadium and Al Thumama Stadium in Doha, and four stadia in Al Rayyan: Ahmad bin Ali Stadium, Education City Stadium, Jassim bin Hamad Stadium, and Khalifa International Stadium.
Knockout round results
Round of 16
Jan. 28, 6:30am ET — Australia 4-0 Indonesia — Al Rayyan
Jan. 28, 11am ET — Tajikistan 1-1 (5-3 PKs) United Arab Emirates — Al Rayyan
Jan. 29, 6:30am ET — Iraq 2-3 Jordan — Al Rayyan
Jan. 29, 11am ET — Qatar 2-1 Palestine — Al Khor
Jan. 30, 6:30am ET — Uzbekistan 2-1 Thailand — Al Wakrah
Jan. 30, 11am ET — Saudi Arabia 1-1 (2-4 PKs) South Korea — Al Rayyan
Jan. 31, 6:30am ET — Bahrain 1-3 Japan — Doha
Jan. 31, 11am ET — Iran 1-1 (5-3 PKs) Syria — Doha
Quarterfinal
Feb. 2, 6:30am ET — Tajikistan 0-1 Jordan — Al Rayyan
Feb. 2, 10:30am ET — Australia 1-2 (AET) South Korea — Al Wakrah
Feb. 3, 6:30am ET — Iran 2-1 Japan — Al Rayyan
Feb. 3, 10:30am ET — Qatar 1-1 (3-2 PKs) Uzbekistan — Al Khor
Semifinal
Feb. 6, 10am ET — Jordan 2-0 South Korea — Al Rayyan
Feb. 7, 10am ET — Iran 2-3 Qatar— Doha
Final
Feb. 10, 10am ET — Jordan 1-3 Qatar — Lusail
Asian Cup final group stage standings
Group A
- Qatar — 3-0-0 — +5 GD — 9 points — ADVANCED TO LAST 16
- Tajikistan — 1-1-1 — 0 GD — 4 points — ADVANCED TO LAST 16
- China — 0-2-1 — -1 GD — 2 points — ELIMINATED
- Lebanon — 0-1-2 — -4 GD — 1 point — ELIMINATED
Group B
- Australia — 2-1-0 — +3 GD — 7 points — ADVANCED TO LAST 16
- Uzbekistan — 1-2-0 — +3 GD — 5 points — ADVANCED TO LAST 16
- Syria — 1-1-1 — 0 GD — 4 points — ADVANCED TO LAST 16
- India — 0-0-3 — -6 GD — 0 points — ELIMINATED
Group C
- Iran — 3-0-0 — +5 GD — 9 points — ADVANCED TO LAST 16
- UAE — 1-1-1 — +1 GD — 4 points — ADVANCED TO LAST 16
- Palestine — 1-1-1 — -3 GD — 4 points — ADVANCED TO LAST 16
- Hong Kong — 0-0-3 — -6 GD — 0 points — ELIMINATED
Group D
- Iraq — 3-0-0 — +4 GD — 9 points — ADVANCED TO LAST 16
- Japan — 2-0-1 — +3 GD — 6 points — ADVANCED TO LAST 16
- Indonesia — 1-0-2 — -3 GD — 3 points — ADVANCED TO LAST 16
- Vietnam — 0-0-3 — -4 GD — 0 points — ELIMINATED
Group E
- Bahrain — 2-0-1 — 0 GD — 6 points — ADVANCED TO LAST 16
- South Korea — 1-2-0 — +2 GD — 5 points — ADVANCED TO LAST 16
- Jordan — 1-1-1 — +3 GD — 4 points — ADVANCED TO LAST 16
- Malaysia — 0-1-2 — -5 GD — 1 point — ELIMINATED
Group F
- Saudi Arabia — 2-1-0 — +3 GD — 7 points — ADVANCED TO LAST 16
- Thailand — 1-2-0 — +2 GD — 5 points — ADVANCED TO LAST 16
- Oman — 0-2-1 — -1 GD — 2 points — ELIMINATED
- Kyrgyzstan — 0-1-2 — -4 GD — 1 point — ELIMINATED
Asian Cup group stage schedule & results
All kickoffs ET
Group A
Jan. 12, 11am : Qatar 3-0 Lebanon — Lusail Stadium, Lusail
Jan. 13, 9:30am : China 0-0 Tajikistan — Abdullah bin Khalifa Stadium, Doha
Jan. 17, 6:30am: Lebanon 0-0 China — Al Thumama Stadium, Doha
Jan. 17, 9:30am: Tajikistan 0-1 Qatar — Al Bayt Stadium, Al Khor
Jan. 22, 10am: Qatar 1-0 China — Khalifa International Stadium, Al Rayyan
Jan. 22, 10am: Tajikistan 2-1 Lebanon — Jassim bin Hamad Stadium, Al Rayyan
Group B
Jan. 13, 6:30am: Australia 2-0 India — Ahmad bin Ali Stadium, Al Rayyan
Jan. 13, 12:30pm: Uzbekistan 0-0 Syria — Jassim bin Hamad Stadium, Al Rayyan
Jan. 18, 6:30am: Syria 0-1 Australia — Jassim bin Hamad Stadium, Al Rayyan
Jan. 18, 9:30am: India 0-3 Uzbekistan — Ahmad bin Ali Stadium, Al Rayyan
Jan. 23, 6:30am: Australia 1-1 Uzbekistan — Al Janoub Stadium, Al Wakrah
Jan. 23, 6:30am: Syria 1-0 India — Al Bayt Stadium, Al Khor
Group C
Jan. 14, 9:30am: UAE 3-1 Hong Kong — Khalifa International Stadium, Al Rayyan
Jan. 14, 12:30pm: Iran 4-1 Palestine — Education City Stadium, Al Rayyan
Jan. 18, 12:30pm: Palestine 1-1 UAE — Al Janoub Stadium, Al Wakrah
Jan. 19, 12:30pm: Hong Kong 0-1 Iran — Khalifa International Stadium, Al Rayyan
Jan. 23, 10am: Iran 2-1 UAE — Education City Stadium, Al Rayyan
Jan. 23, 10am: Hong Kong 0-3 Palestine — Abdullah bin Khalifa Stadium, Doha
Group D
Jan. 14, 6:30am: Japan 4-2 Vietnam — Al Thumama Stadium, Doha
Jan. 15, 9:30am: Indonesia 1-3 Iraq — Ahmad bin Ali Stadium, Al Rayyan
Jan. 19, 6:30am: Iraq 2-1 Japan — Education City Stadium, Al Rayyan
Jan. 19, 9:30am: Vietnam 0-1 Indonesia — Abdullah bin Khalifa Stadium, Doha
Jan. 24, 6:30am: Japan 3-1 Indonesia — Al Thumama Stadium, Doha
Jan. 24, 6:30am: Iraq 3-2 Vietnam — Jassim bin Hamad Stadium, Al Rayyan
Group E
Jan. 15, 6:30am: South Korea 3-1 Bahrain — Jassim bin Hamad Stadium, Al Rayyan
Jan. 15, 12:30pm: Malaysia 0-4 Jordan — Al Janoub Stadium, Al Wakrah
Jan. 20, 6:30am: Jordan 2-2 South Korea — Al Thumama Stadium, Doha
Jan. 20, 9:30am: Bahrain 1-0 Malaysia — Jassim bin Hamad Stadium, Al Rayyan
Jan. 25, 6:30am: South Korea 3-3 Malaysia — Al Janoub Stadium, Al Wakrah
Jan. 25, 6:30am: Jordan 0-1 Bahrain — Khalifa International Stadium, Al Rayyan
Group F
Jan. 16, 9:30am: Thailand 2-0 Kyrgyzstan — Abdullah bin Khalifa Stadium, Doha
Jan. 16, 12:30pm: Saudi Arabia 2-1 Oman — Khalifa International Stadium, Al Rayyan
Jan. 21, 9:30am: Oman 0-0 Thailand — Abdullah bin Khalifa Stadium, Doha
Jan. 21, 12:30pm: Kyrgysztan 0-2 Saudi Arabia — Ahmad bin Ali Stadium, Al Rayyan
Jan. 25, 10am: Saudi Arabia 0-0 Thailand — Education City Stadium, Al Rayyan
Jan. 25, 10am: Kyrgyzstan 1-1 Oman — Abdullah bin Khalifa Stadium, Doha