2023 AFC Asian Cup

muham_istau

muham_istau

Premiership
24 June 2017
Bandung, Indonesia
Arsenal
800px-2023_AFC_Asian_Cup_logo.svg.png

With the drawing concluded, let's start the hype for the 2023 AFC Asian Cup!! :RSCARF: :RSCARF:

Even though the title is the 2023 AFC Asian Cup, the tournament itself is rescheduled to the start of 2024 (Dejavu to Euro 2020). The tournament was originally scheduled to be held in China from 16 June to 16 July 2023, but the AFC announced that China will not host the 2023 Asian Cup because of China's Zero-COVID policy. On 17 October, the AFC announced that the tournament will be held in Qatar.

There is still half a year to prepare for every team, so I'll try to break down the tournament, group, and teams in the coming weeks.

Group A​
Group B​
Group C​
Group D​
Group E​
Group F​
Qatar
China
Tajikistan_FA.png
Tajikistan
Lebanon_national_football_team.png
Lebanon​
593px-Australia_national_football_team_badge.svg.png
Australia
UFA-logo.jpg
Uzbekistan
Syria_national_football_team.png
Syria
117px-Indian_Football_2020.svg.png
India​
Iran
UAE
316px-Hong_Kong_national_football_team.svg.png
Hongkong
Palestine_FA_%28logo%29.png
Palestine​
Japan
463px-2022TimnasGarudaLogo.png
Indonesia
368px-Iraq_National_Team_Badge_2021_v2.svg.png
Iraq
1200px-Vietnam_Football_Federation_logo.svg.png
Vietnam​
South_Korea_national_football_team_logo.png
Korea Republic
294px-Football_Association_of_Malaysia_crest.svg.png
Malaysia
Jordan_FA.png
Jordan
Bahrain_national_football_team.png
Bahrain​
Saudi_Arabia_national_football_team.png
Saudi Arabia
150px-Thailand_national_football_team_logo%2C_March_2018.png
Thailand
Kyrgyzstan_national_football_team.png
Kyrgyzstan
Oman_national_football_team.png
Oman​
 
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This is really cool! I've always loved the Asian Cup and there are a lot of strong teams in this edition!

I have super high hopes for South Korea, all the way!! :RSCARF:

After bowing out to Brazil in the round of 16th in the World Cup, Korea's Portuguese Manager Paulo Bento suddenly resigned, even though he did a good job, and now South Korea has hired none other than Jurgen Klinsmann! Can't wait to see how he changes the team, Klinsmann already said that his first goal was to win the Asian Cup in his introductory Presser!



The road will be tough and long. Lots of strong teams, can't wait to watch this Asian Cup!! Good job presenting the tournament dude!
 
AniGoal10 said:
Some rumors says that the competition will be fully licenced on eFootball 2024
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I hope so.. maybe I can finally see my National Team be licensed in a football game
Spursfan07 said:
Makes sense, they already had the licence to the QF process
Click to expand...
I think the one licensed in eFootball is WC Qualifiers for Asia, but they do have contract with AFC, but not really used ingame except the AFC Champions League event (AFAIK)
 
Japan

JFA.png

FIFA Ranking: 17
Last Participation: 2019 (2nd Place 🥈)
Manager: Hajime Moriyasu

Squad Number​
Name​
Position​
Club​
1​
Daiya Maekawa​
GK​
Vissel Kobe​
12​
Taishi Brandon Nozawa​
GK​
F.C. Tokyo​
23​
Zion Suzuki​
GK​
Sint-Truiden​
2​
Yukinari Sugawara​
DF​
AZ Alkmaar​
3​
Shogo Taniguchi​
DF​
Al-Rayyan​
4​
Ko Itakura​
DF​
B. Mönchengladbach​
15​
Koki Machida​
DF​
Union SG​
16​
Seiya Maikuma​
DF​
Cerezo Osaka​
19​
Yuta Nakayama​
DF​
Huddersfield Town​
21​
Hiroki Ito​
DF​
VfB Stuttgart​
22​
Takehiro Tomiyasu​
DF​
Arsenal​
24​
Tsuyoshi Watanabe​
DF​
Gent​
5​
Hidemasa Morita​
MF​
Sporting CP​
6​
Wataru Endō​
MF​
Liverpool​
7​
Kaoru Mitoma​
MF​
Brighton & Hove Albion​
8​
Takumi Minamino​
MF​
AS Monaco​
10​
Ritsu Dōan​
MF​
SC Freiburg​
13​
Keito Nakamura​
MF​
Reims​
14​
Junya Itō​
MF​
Reims​
17​
Reo Hatate​
MF​
Celtic FC​
20​
Takefusa Kubo​
MF​
Real Sociedad​
26​
Kaishu Sano​
MF​
Kashima Antlers​
9​
Ayase Ueda​
FW​
Feyenoord​
11​
Mao Hosoya​
FW​
Kashiwa Reysol​
18​
Takuma Asano​
FW​
VfL Bochum​
25​
Daizen Maeda​
FW​
Celtic FC​

The announced 26-man squad comes with some surprises, some notable names are missing from the list, such as Celtic's center forward Kyogo Furuhashi and last season's J1-League joint Top Scorer and Best Player in Yuya Osako. But, some questionable names are still called up despite still carrying or just recovering from injury, like Kaoru Mitoma and Takehiro Tomiyasu.

With 4 titles in the Asian Cup, each in 1992, 2000, 2004, and 2011, Japan become the most successful team in the Asian Cup history.
After almost winning their 5th in the 2019 edition, but sadly falling 3-1 to Qatar at the Final, Japan is back in the 2023 edition with bigger determination than ever. Backed up with players mostly playing in the European League, Japan looks like a favorite to not only easily finish 1st in their group but also take home the winner trophy to the land of the rising sun.

Japan is in Group D along with Indonesia, Iraq, and Vietnam.​
 
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Qatar

296px-Qatar_Football_Association_logo.svg.png


FIFA Ranking: 58
Last Participation: 2019 (1st Place 🥇)
Manager: Tintín Márquez

Squad Number​
Name​
Position​
Club​
1​
Saad Al-Sheeb​
GK​
Al-Sadd​
21​
Salah Zakaria​
GK​
Al-Duhail​
22​
Meshaal Barsham​
GK​
Al-Sadd​
2​
Ró-Ró​
DF​
Al-Saad​
3​
Al-Mahdi Ali Mukhtar​
DF​
Al-Wakrah​
5​
Tarek Salman​
DF​
Al-Saad​
12​
Lucas Mendes​
DF​
Al-Wakrah​
14​
Homam Ahmed​
DF​
Al-Gharafa​
15​
Bassam Al-Rawi​
DF​
Al-Rayyan​
16​
Boualem Khoukhi​
DF​
Al-Saad​
18​
Sultan Al-Brake​
DF​
Al-Duhail​
4​
Mohammed Waad​
MF​
Al-Saad​
6​
Abdulaziz Hatem​
MF​
Al-Rayyan​
8​
Ali Assadalla​
MF​
Al-Saad​
10​
Hassan Al-Haydos​
MF​
Al-Saad​
20​
Ahmed Fatehi​
MF​
Al-Arabi​
23​
Mostafa Meshaal​
MF​
Al-Saad​
24​
Jassem Gaber​
MF​
Al-Arabi​
26​
Khaled Mohammed​
MF​
Al-Duhail​
7​
Ahmed Alaaeldin​
FW​
Al-Gharafa​
9​
Yusuf Abdurisag​
FW​
Al-Saad​
11​
Akram Afif​
FW​
Al-Saad​
13​
Khalid Muneer​
FW​
Al-Wakrah​
17​
Ismaeel Mohammad​
FW​
Al-Duhail​
19​
Almoez Ali​
FW​
Al-Duhail​
25​
Ahmed Al Ganehi​
FW​
Al-Gharafa​

​


Qatar not only came to the AFC Asian Cup 2023 as the defending champions but also the host of the tournament. Even though Qatar is no longer led by Félix Sánchez, the coach who guided them to their first Asian Cup glory in 2019, the current squad is still captained by Hassan Al-Haydos the captain who led the team in 2019, and this time around, the team have their local supporter cheering as their 12th player.

The team composition is filled with more or less the same core players as the winning squad of 2019, but with more experience this time around, the average age of the announced squad for the 2023 Asian Cup is 27.7 y/o, rather than 24.6 y/o in the 2019 edition. The oldest player in the squad is Abdulaziz Hatem (34 y/o), and the youngest is Jassem Gaber (21 y/o). Home-ground advantage, a proven/experienced squad, and local supporters as their 12th man, surely Qatar is looking to get their back-to-back win in the Asian Cup this year.

Qatar was drawn into Group A with China, Tajikistan, and Lebanon.​
 
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Iran

1200px-Iranian_football_badge.svg.png


FIFA Ranking: 21
Last Participation: 2019 (Semi-finals)
Manager: Amir Ghalenoei
​

Squad Number​
Name​
Position​
Club​
1​
Alireza Beiranvand​
GK​
Persepolis​
12​
Payam Niazmand​
GK​
Sepahan​
22​
Hossein Hosseini​
GK​
Esteghlal​
2​
Sadegh Moharrami​
DF​
Dinamo Zagreb​
4​
Shojae Khalilzadeh​
DF​
Tractor​
5​
Milad Mohammadi​
DF​
AEK Athens​
13​
Hossein Kanaanizadegan​
DF​
Persepolis​
19​
Majid Hosseini​
DF​
Kayserispor​
24​
Aria Yousefi​
DF​
Sepahan​
25​
Saman Fallah​
DF​
Gol Gohar​
3​
Ehsan Hajsafi​
MF​
AEK Athens​
6​
Saeid Ezatolahi​
MF​
Vejle​
7​
Alireza Jahanbakhsh​
MF​
Feyenoord​
8​
Omid Ebrahimi​
MF​
Al-Shamal​
14​
Saman Ghoddos​
MF​
Brentford​
15​
Rouzbeh Cheshmi​
MF​
Esteghlal​
16​
Mehdi Torabi​
MF​
Persepolis​
17​
Ali Gholizadeh​
MF​
Lech Poznań​
21​
Mohammad Mohebi​
MF​
Rostov​
23​
Ramin Rezaeian​
MF​
Sepahan​
9​
Mehdi Taremi​
FW​
Porto​
10​
Karim Ansarifard​
FW​
Omonia​
11​
Reza Asadi​
FW​
Sepahan​
18​
Mehdi Ghayedi​
FW​
Ittihad Kalba​
20​
Sardar Azmoun​
FW​
Roma​
26​
Shahriyar Moghanlou​
FW​
Sepahan​


Iran is one of the football powerhouses in Asia for sure, always qualified for the FIFA World Cup on the last 3 occasions (but always came short of qualifying for the knockout stage), things look better for Iran in the Asian Cup, by never missing the main stage of the Asian cup since 1968, only missing the knockout stage 1 time (1992) ever since knockout stages was introduced to the Asian Cup in 1972, and becoming the Champion of Asia for 3 times each in 1968, 1972, and 1976.

In the modern format of the Asian Cup Iran seems to having a hard time passing the Quarter-final rounds, only passing it in 2019 to finish 3rd/4th by reaching the Semi-finals.

Iran was drawn into Group C with UAE, Hongkong, and Palestine.​
 
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muham_istau said:
With the influx of interest and quality in the Saudi League this year, I do think they'll do well. at least better than their achievement in the 2019 edition
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I'm not sure the recruitement of top players is really good for their NT. didn't their best players end up getting benched or sent to weaker teams ?
 
United Arab Emirates

UAE_national_football_team.png


FIFA Ranking: 64
Last Participation: 2019 (Semi-finals)
Manager: Paulo Bento

​
Squad Number​
Name​
Position​
Club​
1​
Ali Khasif​
GK​
Al-Jazira​
17​
Khalid Eisa​
GK​
Al-Jazira​
22​
Khaled Tawhid​
GK​
Al-Ain​
2​
Abdulla Idrees​
DF​
Al-Jazira​
3​
Zayed Sultan​
DF​
Al-Jazira​
4​
Khalid Al-Hashemi​
DF​
Sharjah​
12​
Khalifa Al Hammadi​
DF​
Shahab Al-Ahli​
13​
Mohammed Al-Attas​
DF​
Al-Wasl​
19​
Khaled Ibrahim​
DF​
Shahab Al-Ahli​
24​
Ahmed Abdalla​
DF​
Al-Jazira​
25​
Abdulrahman Saleh​
DF​
Al-Wasl​
26​
Bader Nasser​
DF​
Al-Wasl​
5​
Ali Salmeen​
MF​
Al-Wasl​
6​
Majid Rashid​
MF​
Shahab Al-Ahli​
8​
Tahnoon Al-Zaabi​
MF​
Shahab Al-Ahli​
14​
Abdulla Hamad​
MF​
Kalba​
15​
Yahia Nader​
MF​
Al-Jazira​
16​
Mohammed Abbas​
MF​
Al-Ain​
18​
Abdullah Ramadan​
MF​
Sharjah​
7​
Ali Mabkhout​
FW​
Al-Wasl​
9​
Ali Saleh​
FW​
Sharjah​
10​
Fábio Lima​
FW​
Al-Wahda​
11​
Caio Canedo​
FW​
Al-Wahda​
20​
Yahya Al-Ghassani​
FW​
Al-Ain​
21​
Harib Abdalla​
FW​
Al-Ain​
23​
Sultan Adil​
FW​
Al-Jazira​

UAE never won an Asian Cup before, only coming close to one in 1996. Losing penalty shootouts against Saudi Arabia. After some bad results early in 2023, Paulo Bento was called as a new coach to bring new ideas to the team. UAE has an impressive results ever since Paulo Bento took over in July of 2023, winning all 6 matches under him.

UAE was drawn into Group C with Iran, Hongkong, and Palestine.​
 
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FC Bayern said:
Anyone know how to watch in Indonesia (channels etc.)? Either TV or online
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I believe the exclusive right to broadcast Indonesia NT matches is still with MNC Group.. so, for TV it is either RCTI or Global TV and Vision+ for streaming

AniGoal10 said:
@muham_istau If you can put also the list of the Broadcaster by country and area it will be great
Click to expand...
On it

*Note: I also found out that the official YouTube channel of the AFC Asian Cup is preparing a bunch of live broadcasts. But, I don't know where will it be available to
1704454812547.png
 
China

800px-China_national_football_team.svg.png


FIFA Ranking: 79
Last Participation: 2019 (Quarter-finals)
Manager: Aleksandar Janković

Squad Number​
Name​
Position​
Club​
1​
Yan Junling​
GK​
​
12​
Jian Tao​
GK​
​
14​
Wang Dalei​
GK​
​
25​
Liu Dianzuo​
GK​
2​
Tyias Browning​
DF​
​
3​
Zhu Chenjie​
DF​
​
4​
Li Lei​
DF​
​
5​
Zhang Linpeng​
DF​
​
13​
Zhang Linpeng​
DF​
​
19​
Liu Yang​
DF​
​
22​
Wu Shaocong​
DF​
​
24​
Jiang Shenglong​
DF​
​
6​
Wang Shangyuan​
DF​
​
8​
Xu Xin​
MF​
​
10​
Xie Pengfei​
MF​
​
15​
Wu Xi​
MF​
​
16​
Gao Tianyi​
MF​
​
17​
Chen Pu​
MF​
​
18​
Dai Wai Tsun​
MF​
​
21​
Liu Binbin​
MF​
​
23​
Lin Liangming​
FW​
​
26​
Wang Qiuming​
FW​
​
7​
Wu Lei​
FW​
​
9​
Zhang Yuning​
FW​
​
11​
Tan Long​
FW​
​
20​
Wei Shihao​
FW​
​

China's best spell at the continental competition came in 2004. Acting as the host nation in 2004, China was able to come to the finals after defeating Iraq 3-0 in QF and winning the penalty shootout against Iran 4-3. But sadly fell short after losing to Japan 1-3. China never even passed their past achievement after that, 2 times they stopped at the QF in both 2015 and 2019.

In 2019, China was selected as the host nation for the 2023 edition but decided to withdraw because of COVID-19.

China was drawn into Group A with Qatar, Tajikistan, and Lebanon​
 
@AniGoal10 Pablo Sabbag! I followed him quite closely in the Colombian League (he played for a small team called La Equidad, and now he moved on to Peruvian Giants Alianza Lima), and I knew he had Middle Eastern Ancestry, but I had no idea he played for the Syrian NT. Very interesting indeed!

@muham_istau I'm loving your team summaries! I love the AFC Asian Cup and also the AFC Champions League (knockout stage is ongoing in CL), and getting to know the National Teams a bit better is very useful! I will definitely be following this thread closely, will be rooting for South Korea! (Can't wait to see their preview), but I am also a fan of all Asian Teams, so this will be very exciting for sure!
 
millossobek said:
@AniGoal10 Pablo Sabbag! I followed him quite closely in the Colombian League (he played for a small team called La Equidad, and now he moved on to Peruvian Giants Alianza Lima), and I knew he had Middle Eastern Ancestry, but I had no idea he played for the Syrian NT. Very interesting indeed!

@muham_istau I'm loving your team summaries! I love the AFC Asian Cup and also the AFC Champions League (knockout stage is ongoing in CL), and getting to know the National Teams a bit better is very useful! I will definitely be following this thread closely, will be rooting for South Korea! (Can't wait to see their preview), but I am also a fan of all Asian Teams, so this will be very exciting for sure!
Click to expand...
It looks like the Syrian FA have done a big job to scout some players abroad and convince them of the national team project.
 
Really looking forward to this tournament, should be some fantastic games. its big shame hat there isn't any coverage in the UK for the games or even the highlights
 
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