Announcing the program for the 2023 AFC Asian Cup matches in Qatar

Following the unveiling of the 2023 AFC Asian Cup draw ceremony in Qatar earlier on Thursday, the Asian Football Confederation and the Local Organizing Committee announced the official match program for the 18th edition of the jewel of the Asian continent’s tournaments.

And with the 24 teams getting to know the path of competition in the group stage, during the draw ceremony that was held at the Katara Opera House, attention is now turning to the tournament, which will be held from January 12 to February 10, 2024.

Historic opening

The Qatar national team, the host of the tournament for a record for the third time, and the holder of the championship title, will start its matches by facing Lebanon on Friday, January 12, 2024, at 7:30 pm local time, at Al-Bayt Stadium, which has a capacity of 68, 895 spectators, which is expected to witness an exciting opening between two teams from the West Asian region, who have met before once in the history of the Asian Cup, and this will be the match No. 40 for Qatar in the history of the tournament, while Lebanon will play in the opening match for the first time in Championship history.

Matches worth watching

China and Tajikistan: Tajikistan are the only new entrants in this edition of the tournament, and they will face China in their historic first match in the Asian Cup, and this match represents an opportunity for the Central Asian side to show its ability to compete against the continent’s elite.

On the other hand, the Chinese national team is participating in the 13th participation in the history of the tournament, as it comes in second place behind Iran and South Korea, who participated in 15 editions of the tournament, and it will meet Tajikistan in the first round of the first Group competitions on Saturday, January 13, at 08:00. 5:30 pm local time at Abdullah bin Khalifa Stadium.

Iraq and Japan: The teams of Japan and Iraq were the highest in the world ranking within the bowl in which they are located, as the Japanese team, which came in the first level, will meet the Iraqi team, the 2007 Asian Cup champion from the second level, in a match that is expected to be strong and exciting, when the two teams meet for the third time in the history of the Asian Cup.

The Japanese national team, which holds the record for winning the tournament title four times, defeated Iraq in the quarter-finals of the 2000 edition on the way to winning its second title in the tournament, and the confrontation between the two teams may be on Friday, January 19 at 2:30 pm At Education City Stadium, decisive in order to determine the first place in the fourth Group.

In the same group, Vietnam coach Philippe Troussier, who oversaw Japan’s way to winning the championship in 2000, is looking forward to facing his former team when the two teams meet on Sunday, January 14 at 2:30 pm at Al-Thumama Stadium.

Syria and Australia: The two teams meet for the second time in a row in the group stage, in a confrontation that has become one of the exciting and traditional stations in Asian stadiums.

The Australian team ended Syria’s ambitions to reach the 2018 World Cup finals, when the two teams met in the Asian play-off, after a victory in overtime. After that, the confrontation between the two teams was repeated in the second Group at the 2019 Asian Cup in the UAE, when Tom Rogic scored the winning goal for Australia in the third minute of stoppage time for the second half, ending the match with Australia winning 3-2 after an exciting competition.

The confrontation between the two teams will take place on Thursday, January 18, at Jassim bin Hamad Stadium, at 2:30 pm.

Saudi Arabia and Oman: The two teams have met in 23 matches at the international level, including many in the World Cup and World Cup qualifiers, but this will be the first match that brings them together in the history of the Asian Cup finals.

The Saudi national team, which recently participated in the 2022 World Cup in Qatar, will seek to build on the confidence it gained in the search for the fourth continental title, while the Oman national team is looking forward to crossing the group stage for the second time in a row, and the match will take place on Tuesday 16 January at Khalifa International Stadium at 8:30 pm.

Opening matches at each stadium

The Asian Football Confederation and the Local Organizing Committee for the 2023 AFC Asian Cup in Qatar confirmed last month the eight stadiums where the tournament matches will be held.

Among these stadiums, there are six stadiums that hosted the 2022 World Cup matches in Qatar, which are Al Janoub Stadium, Al Bayt Stadium, Ahmed Bin Ali Stadium, Al Thumama Stadium, Education City Stadium and Khalifa International Stadium, in addition to Jassim Bin Hamad Stadium and Abdullah Bin Khalifa Stadium, where it will be the first time ever that the Asian Cup matches will be held in the stadiums of the World Cup.

A day after the opening match is held at Al-Bayt Stadium, when the host Qatar team meets Lebanon, Ahmed Bin Ali Stadium will be the venue for hosting the first match in Group two on January 13 at 2:30 pm between Australia and India, and the second match will be held within the second group which is between Uzbekistan and Syria at Jassim Bin Hamad Stadium at 8:30 pm. On the same day, China will meet Tajikistan in the first Group at Abdullah bin Khalifa Stadium at 5:30 pm.

On Sunday, January 14, the fourth Group competitions will start at Al-Thumama Stadium, when the Japanese national team will meet Vietnam at 2:30 pm, and Khalifa International Stadium will host at 5:30 pm the Emirates match with Hong Kong, China while in the third Group a second match will be played between Iran and Palestine which will be held at 8:30 pm at the Education City Stadium.

Al Janoub Stadium will host its first match on Monday, January 15th, when Malaysia will meet Jordan in Group 4.

Five stadiums will host 6 matches each, while the other three stadiums, which are Ahmed Bin Ali Stadium, Al Thumama Stadium and Al Bayt Stadium, will host 7 matches each.

The 2023 Asian Cup competitions will conclude in Qatar, with the final match being held on Saturday, February 10, 2024, at Al Bayt Stadium, where two teams will compete for the continental title, starting at 6:00 pm.

The draw for the 2023 Asian Cup in Qatar
Group 1: Qatar, China, Tajikistan, Lebanon
Group 2: Australia, Uzbekistan, Syria, India
Group 3: Iran, UAE, Hong Kong, China, Palestine
Group 4: Japan, Indonesia, Iraq, Vietnam
Group 5: South Korea, Malaysia, Jordan, Bahrain
Group 6: Saudi Arabia, Thailand, Kyrgyzstan, Oman