Here we are going to talk about the 18th edition of the 2023 AFC Asian cup tournament, and there are 46 teams that participated in qualifying for this massive tournament named the 2023 Asian cup. But after qualification, we have only 24 best Asian teams that will compete with each other to win the 2023 Asian cup. From 2004 the number of qualified teams for this immense tournament was 16 but since 2019 the AFC upgraded the format of qualification and expand the number of qualified teams from 16 to 24.
Who is the host of the 2023 ASIAN CUP?
According to the AFC announcement, CHINA PR was the host of the 2023 ASIAN cup. According to the strategy, 10 stadiums have hosted the tournament, and before 24 teams show their expertise in the Chinese marvelous striking arenas from 16 June to 16 July CFA (CHINESE Federation Association) relinquished hosting of the tournament due to the situation of the COVID-19 Pandemic. This could be proven harmful to the Chinese zero COVID policy.
For the last couple of months, it was the most attention taking topic that everybody was talking about it and especially on Chinese social media sites like WEIBO which generate a lot of traffic by the news and get more than 60 million views in a couple of hours and everybody was shocked to hear this news.
But now we got a confirmed announcement that China will no longer be able to host the 2023 Asian cup because CFA(Chinese Football Association) informed the AFC(Asian Football Association). China has been busy dealing with the COVID-19 pandemic for a few years but it affected the 2023 Asian cup and disappointed the football fans the most.
FORMAT OF QUALIFICATION:
The qualification for the FIFA WORLD CUP QATAR 2022 and ASIAN CUP 2023 was same and every team which qualifies for FIFA automatically qualifies for ASIAN CUP 2023. The qualification for Asian cup 2023 began on 6 June 2019 and a total of 46 teams competed with each other to make a place in this huge event.
The qualification for the Asian cup 2023 consists of three rounds and the format for qualification are as follows:
FIRST ROUND:
There were a total of 46 teams that comes to compete in the Asian cup 2023 and the twelve teams (ranked as 35-46) bumped with each other and play home and away tow legs matches in the first round for the qualification of Asian Cup 2023. 6 winners were promoted to the second round and the 6 losing teams of the first round received a bye.
SCHEDULE OF FIRST ROUND:
| ROUND | MATCHDAY | MATCH DATES |
| First round | 1st Leg | 6 June 2019 |
| First Round | 2nd Leg | 11 June 2019 |
| LIST OF COMPETED TEAM IN FIRST ROUND |
|---|
| 35: MALAYSIA
36: CAMBODIA 37: MACAU 38: LAOS 39: BHUTAN 40: MONGOLIA 41: BANGLADESH 42: GUAM 43: BRUNEI 44: TIMOR-LESTE 45: PAKISTAN 46: SRI LANKA |
The first round of AFC was held on 17 July 2019 in Kuala Lumpur which is the capital of Malaysia.
| TEAM 1 | Total Score | TEAM 2 | IST LEG | 2ND LEG |
| MONGOLIA
MACAU LAOS MALAYSIA
BHUTAN |
3-2
1-3 0-1 12-2 4-1 1-5 |
BRUNEI
SRI LANKA BANGLADESH TIMOR-LESTE PAKISTAN GUAM |
2-0
1-0 0-1 7-1 2-0 1-0 |
1-2
0-3 0-0 5-1 2-1 0-5 |
SECOND ROUND:
A total of 40 teams (ranked as 1-34) and the 6 winners from the first round were ready to compete in the second round. These 40 teams were divided into eight groups and each group got 5 teams to compete in the round-robin qualifying matches.
The eight group winners and top 5 groups runners-up make their places for Asian Cup 2023 and the next 22 teams mean eight third-placed teams eight fourth-placed teams and 5 fifth-placed runners-up received a promotion to the third round and the remaining 4 teams advanced to the play-off round.
The second round of the AFC tournament qualification was started on 17 July 2019 and it was also held in Kuala Lumpur the capital of MALAYSIA. A total of 40 teams competed including the 6 winner teams from the first round.
SCHEDULE OF SECOND ROUND:
| ROUND | MATCHDAY | MATCH DATES |
| Second round | 1st Matchday | 5 September 2019 |
| Second round | 2nd Matchday | 10 September 2019 |
| Second round | 3rd Matchday | 10 October 2019 |
| Second round | 4th Matchday | 15 October 2019 |
| Second round | 5th Matchday | 14 November 2019 |
| Second round | 6th Matchday | 19 November 2019 |
| Second round | 7th Matchday | 25 March, 28 May and 3 June 2021 |
| Second round | 8th Matchday | 4 December 2020, 30 March and 7 &
9 June 2021 |
| Second round | 9th Matchday | 30 March, 30 May and 11 June 2021 |
| Second round | 10th Matchday | 13 and 15 June 2021 |
| LIST OF COMPETED TEAM IN SECOND ROUND |
|---|
| 1: IRAN
2: JAPAN 3: SOUTH KOREA 4: AUSTRALIA 5: QATAR 6: UNITED ARAB EMIRATES 7: SAUDIA ARABIA 8: CHINA PR 9: IRAQ 10: SYRIA 11: UZBEKISTAN 12: LEBANON 13: OMAN 14: KYRGYZSTAN 15: JORDAN 16: VIETNAM 17: PALESTINE 18: INDIA 19: BAHRAIN 20: THAILAND 21: TAJIKISTAN 22: NORTH KOREA 23: PHILLIPINES 24: CHINESE TAIPEI 25: TURKMENISTAN 26: MYANMAR 27: HONG KONG 29: AFGHANISTAN 30: MALDIVES 31: KUWAIT 33: SINGAPORE 34: NEPAL 35: GUAM 36: MONGOLIA 37: MALAYSIA 38: CAMBODIA 39: BANGLADESH 40: SRI LANKA |
The total of 40 teams was divided into 8 group’s and the list of following groups is given below:
GROUP A:
CHINA PR was already qualified as the host nation. At that time CHINA PR was the host but after that CHINA PR relinquish to host the nation.
| Team Positions | Matches Played | Won | Loss | Drawn | Total points |
| SYRIA | 8 | 7 | 1 | 0 | 21 |
| CHINA PR | 8 | 6 | 1 | 1 | 19 |
| PHILLIPINES | 8 | 3 | 3 | 2 | 11 |
| MALDIVES | 8 | 2 | 5 | 1 | 7 |
| GUAM | 8 | 0 | 8 | 0 | 0 |
GROUP B:
| Team Positions | Matches Played | Won | Loss | Drawn | Total points |
| AUSTRALIA | 8 | 8 | 0 | 0 | 24 |
| KUWAIT | 8 | 4 | 2 | 2 | 14 |
| JORDAN | 8 | 4 | 2 | 2 | 14 |
| NEPAL | 8 | 2 | 6 | 0 | 6 |
| CHINESE
TAIPEI |
8 | 0 | 8 | 0 | 0 |
GROUP C:
| Team Positions | Matches Played | Won | Loss | Drawn | Total points |
| IRAN | 8 | 6 | 2 | 0 | 18 |
| IRAQ | 8 | 5 | 1 | 2 | 17 |
| BAHRAIN | 8 | 4 | 1 | 3 | 15 |
| HONG
KONG |
8 | 1 | 5 | 2 | 5 |
| CAMBODIA | 8 | 0 | 7 | 1 | 1 |
GROUP D:
| Team Positions | Matches Played | Won | Loss | Drawn | Total points |
| SAUDIA
ARABIA |
8 | 6 | 0 | 2 | 20 |
| UZBEKISTAN | 8 | 5 | 3 | 0 | 15 |
| PALESTINE | 8 | 3 | 4 | 1 | 10 |
| SINGAPORE | 8 | 2 | 5 | 1 | 7 |
| YEMEN | 8 | 1 | 5 | 2 | 5 |
GROUP E:
| Team Positions | Matches Played | Won | Loss | Drawn | Total points |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| QATAR | 8 | 7 | 0 | 1 | 32 |
| OMAN | 8 | 6 | 2 | 0 | 18 |
| INDIA | 8 | 1 | 3 | 4 | 7 |
| AFGHANISTAN | 8 | 1 | 4 | 3 | 6 |
| BANGLADESH | 8 | 0 | 6 | 2 | 2 |
GROUP F:
| Team Positions | Matches Played | Won | Loss | Drawn | Total points |
| JAPAN | 8 | 8 | 0 | 0 | 24 |
| TAJIKISTAN | 8 | 4 | 3 | 1 | 13 |
| KYRGYZSTAN | 8 | 3 | 4 | 1 | 10 |
| MONGOLIA | 8 | 2 | 6 | 0 | 6 |
| MYANMAR | 8 | 2 | 6 | 0 | 6 |
GROUP G:
| Team Positions | Matches Played | Won | Loss | Drawn | Total points |
| UNITED ARAB
EMIRATES |
8 | 6 | 2 | 0 | 18 |
| VIETNAM | 8 | 5 | 1 | 2 | 17 |
| MALAYSIA | 8 | 4 | 4 | 0 | 12 |
| THAILAND | 8 | 2 | 3 | 3 | 9 |
| INDONESIA | 8 | 0 | 7 | 1 | 1 |
GROUP H:
| Team Positions | Matches Played | Won | Loss | Drawn | Total points |
| SOUTH KOREA | 6 | 5 | 0 | 1 | 16 |
| LEBANON | 6 | 3 | 2 | 1 | 10 |
| TURKMENISTAN | 6 | 3 | 3 | 0 | 9 |
| SRI LANKA | 6 | 0 | 6 | 0 | 0 |
| NORTH KOREA | 6 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 |
LIST OF RUNNER-UP TEAMS:
| Team positions & Groups | Played | Won | Loss | Drawn | Total Points |
| CHINA PR (Group A) | 6 | 4 | 1 | 1 | 13 |
| OMAN (Group E) | 6 | 4 | 2 | 0 | 12 |
| IRAQ (Group C) | 6 | 3 | 1 | 2 | 11 |
| VIETNAM (Group G) | 6 | 3 | 1 | 2 | 11 |
| LEBANON (Group H) | 6 | 3 | 2 | 1 | 10 |
| TAJIKISTAN (Group F) | 6 | 3 | 2 | 1 | 10 |
| UZBEKISTAN (Group D) | 6 | 3 | 3 | 0 | 9 |
| KUWAIT (Group B) | 6 | 2 | 2 | 2 | 8 |
LIST OF FIFTH-PLACED TEAMS:
| Team positions & Groups | Played | Won | Loss | Drawn | Total Points |
| MYANMAR (Group F) | 8 | 2 | 6 | 0 | 6 |
| YAMAN (Group D) | 8 | 1 | 5 | 2 | 5 |
| BANGLADESH (Group E) | 8 | 0 | 6 | 2 | 2 |
| INDONESIA (Group G) | 8 | 0 | 7 | 1 | 1 |
| CAMBODIA (Group C) | 8 | 0 | 7 | 1 | 1 |
| CHINESE TAIPEI (Group B) | 8 | 0 | 8 | 0 | 0 |
| GUAM (Group A) | 8 | 0 | 8 | 0 | 0 |
PLAY-OFF ROUND:
The paly-off round is just a one-round based part of the contest where 4 teams compete for two-legged play-off matches that advanced the final two teams to the third round of the Asian Cup 2023 qualification.
| TEAM 1 | Total Score | TEAM 2 | 1ST LEG | 2ND LEG |
| GUAM | 1-3 | CAMBODIA | 0-1 | 1-2 |
| INDONESIA | 5-1 | CHINESE TAIPEI |
SCHEDULE OF PLAY-OFF ROUND:
| ROUND | Matchday | DATES |
|---|---|---|
| Play-off round | 1st leg | 7 and 9 October 2021 |
| Play-off rou | 2nd leg | 11 and 12 October 2021 |
THIRD ROUND:
In the third round, we got the best 24 teams divided into 6 groups and each group has four teams and these teams competed for the remaining slots in the Asian Cup 2023.
SCHEDULE OF THIRD ROUND:
| ROUND | Matchday | DATES |
|---|---|---|
| Third round | 1st Matchday | 8 June 2022 |
| Third round | 2nd Matchday | 11 June 2022 |
| Third round | 3rd matchday | 14 June 2022 |
LIST OF GROUPS COMPETED IN THIRD ROUND:
GROUP A:
| Team Positions | Matches Played | Won | Loss | Drawn | Total points |
| JORDAN | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 |
| KUWAIT | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 |
| INDONESIA | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 |
| NEPAL | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 |
GROUP B:
| Team Positions | Matches Played | Won | Loss | Drawn | Total points |
| PALESTINE | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 |
| PHILIPPINES | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 |
| YEMEN | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 |
| MONGOLIA | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 |
GROUP C:
| Team Positions | Matches Played | Won | Loss | Drawn | Total points |
| UZBEKISTAN | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 |
| THAILAND | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 |
| MALDIVES | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 |
| SRI LANKA | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 |
GROUP D:
| Team Positions | Matches Played | Won | Loss | Drawn | Total points |
| INDIA | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 |
| HONG KONG | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 |
| AFGHANISTAN | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 |
| CAMBODIA | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 |
GROUP E:
| Team Positions | Matches Played | Won | Loss | Drawn | Total points |
| BAHRIAN | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 |
| TURKMENISTAN | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 |
| MALAYSIA | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 |
| BANGLADESH | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 |
GROUP F:
| Team Positions | Matches Played | Won | Loss | Drawn | Total points |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| KYRGYZTAN | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 |
| TAJIKISTAN | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 |
| MYANMAR | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 |
| SINGAPORE | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 |
RANKING OF RUNNER-UP TEAMS:
| Team positions & Groups | Played | Won | Loss | Drawn | Total Points |
| KUWAIT | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 |
| PHILLIPINES | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 |
| THAILAND | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 |
| HONG KONG | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 |
| TURKMENISTAN | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 |
| TAJIKISTAN | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 |
QUALIFIED TEAMS FOR ASIAN CUP 2023:
| TEAMS | QUALIFICATION METHOD | DATE OF QUALIFICATION |
| JAPAN | Second round Group F winners | 28 May 2021 |
| SYRIA | Second round Group A winners | 7 June 2021 |
| QATAR | Second round Group E winners | 7 June 2021 |
| SOUTH KOREA | Second round Group H winners | 9 June 2021 |
| AUSTRALIA | Second round Group B winners | 11 June 2021 |
| IRAN | Second round Group C winners | 15 June 2021 |
| SAUDIA ARABIA | Second round Group D winners | 15 June 2021 |
| UNITED ARAB EMIRATES | Second round Group G winners | 15 June 2021 |
| CHINA PR | Second round Group A runners-up | 15 June 2021 |
| IRAQ | Second round Group C runners-up | 15 June 2021 |
| OMAN | Second round Group E runners-up | 15 June 2021 |
| VIETNAM | Second round Group G runners-up | 15 June 2021 |
| LEBANON | Second round Group H runners-up | 15 June 2021 |
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