AFC Asian Cup 2023: Fixtures, schedule, format, telecast and more

A total of 24 teams will compete in the AFC Asian Cup 2023.

The 2023 AFC Asian Cup Qatar, will be the 18th edition of Asia’s biggest and most prestigious football tournament. The tournament involves 24 teams, who have been divided into six groups of four. 

On 17 October 2022, the AFC announced that the tournament will be held in Qatar, replacing original hosts China. Due to the high summer temperatures and Qatar’s participation in the 2023 CONCACAF Gold Cup, the tournament was postponed to 12 January – 10 February 2024, while retaining the original name for both existing sponsorship and logistical purposes.

Teams 

Group A – Qatar, China, Tajikistan, Lebanon

Group B – Australia, Uzbekistan, Syria, India

Group C – Iran, UAE, Palestine, Hong Kong

Group D – Japan, Iraq, Vietnam, Indonesia

Group E – South Korea, Malaysia, Jordan, Bahrain

Group F – Saudi Arabia, Thailand, Kyrgyzstan, Oman

Format

The 24 participating nations have all been divided into six groups of four teams each, where they will compete in a single round robin format. 

Upon the completion of all group games, the top two teams from the group will make it to the knockouts, whereas the best four among the third-placed teams will qualify for the round of 16. 

Thereon, the teams will play in a series of single-legged knockout games, that will ultimately lead to the showdown for the continent’s most prestigious football title.

Tiebreakers

Teams are ranked according to points (3 points for a win, 1 point for a draw, 0 points for a loss), and if tied on points, the following tiebreaking criteria are applied, in the order given, to determine the rankings:

1. Points in head-to-head matches among tied teams;
2. Goal difference in head-to-head matches among tied teams;
3. Goals scored in head-to-head matches among tied teams;
4. If more than two teams were tied, and after applying all head-to-head criteria above, a subset of teams are still tied, all head-to-head criteria above are reapplied exclusively to this subset of teams;
5. Goal difference in all group matches;
6. Goals scored in all group matches;
7. Penalty shoot-out if only two teams are tied and they are playing each other in the last round of the group;
8. Disciplinary points (yellow card = 1 point, red card as a result of two yellow cards = 3 points, direct red card = 3 points, yellow card followed by direct red card = 4 points);
9. Drawing of lots.

Venue

The 2023 AFC Asian Cup will be played across five different cities, which include a total of nine stadiums, among which is the Lusail Stadium, which hosted the 2022 FIFA World Cup final.

Among the other stadiums, are Al Bayt Stadium, Ahmad Bin Ali Stadium, Education City Stadium, Jassim Bin Hamad Stadium, Khalifa International Stadium, Abdullah Bin Khalifa Stadium, Al Thumama Stadium and Al Janoub Stadium.

Telecast 

The AFC Asian Cup 2023 matches will be telecast live on Sports18 Network. Live streaming of the AFC Asian Cup 2023 will be available on the JioCinema app and website. Click here to know details about the worldwide broadcasters.

Fixtures

Group A

January 12: Qatar 3-0 Lebanon – Match Report

January 13: China vs Tajikistan

January 17: Lebanon vs China

January 17: Tajikistan vs Qatar

January 22: Qatar vs China

January 22: Tajikistan vs Lebanon

Group B

January 13: Australia vs India

January 13: Uzbekistan vs Syria

January 18: Syria vs Australia

January 18: India vs Uzbekistan

January 23: Australia vs Uzbekistan

January 23: Syria vs India

Group C

January 14: UAE vs Hong Kong

January 14: Iran vs Palestine

January 18: Palestine vs UAE

January 19: Hong Kong vs Iran

January 23: Iran vs UAE

January 23: Hong Kong vs Palestine

Group D

January 14: Japan vs Vietnam

January 15: Indonesia vs Iraq

January 19: Iraq vs Japan

January 19: Vietnam vs Indonesia

January 24: Japan vs Indonesia

January 24: Iraq vs Vietnam

Group E

January 15: South Korea vs Bahrain

January 15: Malaysia vs Jordan

January 20: Jordan vs South Korea

January 20: Bahrain vs Malaysia

January 25: South Korea vs Malaysia

January 25: Jordan vs Bahrain

Group F

January 16: Thailand vs Kyrgyzstan

January 16: Saudi Arabia vs Oman

January 21: Oman vs Thailand

January 21: Kyrgyzstan vs Saudi Arabia

January 25: Saudi Arabia vs Thailand

January 25: Kyrgyzstan vs Oman

Round of 16

Match 37: January 28— Winner B vs 3rd place A/C/D

Match 38: January 28 — Runner-up A vs Runner-up C

Match 39: January 29 — Winner D vs 3rd place B/E/F

Match 40: January 29— Winner A vs 3rd place C/D/E

Match 41: January 30 — Runner-up B vs Runner-up F

Match 42: January 30— Winner F vs Runner-up E

Match 43: January 31— Winner E vs Runner-up D

Match 44: January 31 — Winner C vs 3rd place A/B/F

Quarter-final

Match 45: February 2 — Winner of 38 vs Winner of 39

Match 46: February 2— Winner of 37 vs Winner of 42 

Match 47: February 3— Winner of 44 vs Winner of 43 

Match 48: February 3— Winner of 40 vs Winner of 41 

Semi-final

First semi-final: February 6

Second semi-final: February 7

Final

February 10

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