AFC Asian Cup tips

With just over two weeks to go for the AFC Asian Cup Qatar 2023™, the-AFC.com caught up with former Korea Republic captain Koo Ja-cheol to get his thoughts on the continental showpiece. The AFC Asian Cup holds a special place in the heart of the midfielder, whose five goals earned him the Golden Boot at the 2011 edition of the tournament.

In a momentous occasion for football enthusiasts across Asia, the AFC Asian Cup Final 2024 concluded with an electrifying showdown, marking a significant chapter in Qatar’s footballing legacy. As the host nation, Qatar not only provided a stage for the tournament but also emerged victorious, securing the championship title amidst a wave of excitement and celebration. Qatar became the first country in 20 years to win back-to-back Asian Cup titles with a 3-1 win over Jordan

The United Arab Emirates go into the AFC Asian Cup Qatar 2023™ aiming to build on their back-to-back semi-final finishes. And just as was the case in 2015 and 2019, Ali Mabkhout will carry the hopes of his nation. Not many players in Asian football have as many records to their name across club and country, domestic and continental football as 33-year-old Mabkhout, and he travels to Qatar hopeful of breaking one of the most important records of them all.

After a fine AFC Asian Cup™ 2019 campaign where he guided his nation to the knockout stages of the competition for the first time in 47 years, Chanathip Songkrasin will be keen to create more history with Thailand as the continental showpiece returns.

With just under three weeks to go to Asia’s grandest ever showpiece, passionate fans from across the globe can now share their predictions for the upcoming AFC Asian Cup Qatar 2023™ by playing the Match Predictor game on the-AFC.com or the AFC LIVE app for a chance to win exclusive prizes. The game allows fans to enter their predictions for all 51 AFC Asian Cup Qatar 2023™ matches and change their predictions up until the kick-off of each match. For each prediction, fans will accumulate points based on how accurate their predictions are in terms of the outcome of the match and the first team to score (during the Knockout Stage). Participants can get ahead in the game by using boosters to earn double points for their match predictions, as well as answering optional bonus questions to gain additional points.

Japan will head to the AFC Asian Cup Qatar 2023™ as the top ranked Asian side. The four-time AFC Asian Cup winners maintained their 17th spot in the latest FIFA World Ranking issued last Thursday.

The Asian Cup comes around every four years, but for some countries, the wait is much longer than that.