The 2023 AFC Asian Cup is the current 18th edition of the AFC Asian Cup, the quadrennial international football tournament organised by the Asian Football Confederation (AFC). It involves 24 national teams after expansion in 2019, with Qatar the defending champions.
On 17 October 2022, the AFC announced that the tournament will be held in Qatar, replacing original hosts China.[3] 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
Asian Cup hosts Qatar kickstarted their title defence with a 3-0 win over Lebanon in the tournament opener on Friday with a brace from their prized playmaker Akram Afif and a goal from Almoez Ali.
Following a glitzy opening ceremony with Qatar’s ruler Sheikh Tamim bin Hamad al-Thani also in attendance at the Lusail Stadium, the two forwards stole the show to kick off the tournament with three points in the bag for the hosts.
Qatar had an early goal ruled out for offside but after a period of dominance, Afif finally broke the deadlock on the stroke of halftime when he pounced on a lay-off by Ali in the box to make it 1-0.
Ali, top scorer in the 2019 edition, then doubled the lead in the 56th minute when he headed home Mohammed Waad’s inviting cross from the left flank.
Lebanon had their moments on the counter-attack to give their travelling fans some hope, but Qatar held firm to deny their Middle Eastern counterparts.
Afif sealed the victory in stoppage time when he pounced on a botched clearance and easily accelerated past a tiring Lebanon defence before applying a calm finish to make it 3-0.