Explainer | AFC Asian Cup: all you need to know, fixtures, groups, venues, how to watch and star players
- International football back in Qatar just over a year after it hosted the World Cup, with the month-long continental tournament to be broadcast around the world
- South Korea’s Son Heung-min leads the cast of stars involved, while Hong Kong are playing in the finals for the first time since 1968
The 2023 AFC Asian Cup finally gets under way this weekend, with hosts Qatar taking on Lebanon in the opening game at midnight on Saturday, Hong Kong time.
It was previously scheduled for last year in China, but the country’s strict Covid-19 regulations meant a new home had to be found, and little more than a year after it hosted the World Cup finals, international football is back in the Middle East.
Hong Kong are playing in the finals for the first time since 1968, and have been drawn against United Arab Emirates, Iran and Palestine in Group C.
Here is our guide to the games, groups, venues and how you can watch all the action from the tournament, which runs from January 12 to February 10.
How to watch
Games are being broadcast around the world, meaning no matter where you are, you should be able to watch your team’s progress over the next month.
In Hong Kong, matches are on Hoy TV, channels 76 and 77, while elsewhere in the region they are being streamed by Mediacorp via its mewatch service in Singapore, by M Plus Live in Macau, and FPT Play in Vietnam.
Fixtures and groups
Hong Kong’s first game is on Sunday against the UAE at 10.30pm (HKT), while favourites Japan open their Asian Cup campaign against Vietnam in Group D at 7.30pm.
Our handy guide below has all the group games, with tables and results that will update throughout the tournament.
Venues
The Asian Cup will be another chance to see many of the spectacular stadiums used to host the World Cup. Lusail, which staged the greatest World Cup final in history when Argentina beat France on penalties after a 3-3 draw, will be used for the opening game of the Asian Cup and the final.
Al Bayt Stadium was one of the most distinctive from the World Cup, having been constructed to look like a tent.
Jassim Bin Hamad Stadium, which opened in 1975, was not used for the World Cup but will host seven matches of this tournament.
Star power
From Tottenham’s South Korea forward Son Heung-min to Saudi Arabia’s Salem Al-Dawsari and the emerging talent of Japan’s Kaoru Mitoma, star names will be in action in Qatar.
There is little more to be said about the 31-year-old Son, one of the best attackers in the English Premier League and Asia’s top player for the past five years. South Korea coach Jurgen Klinsmann has identified his captain as the essential ingredient to success.
Mitoma was a relative unknown before the winger started to turn heads with his performances for Brighton, where he has scored 13 times in 65 matches.
He made his international debut two years ago, and has scored seven times in 18 appearances, but goes into the Asian Cup with an ankle injury and is expected to miss at least one game.
Dawsari will have fond memories of Qatar after scoring one of the goals of the tournament at the 2022 World Cup.
The attacker, who was named Asian Football Confederation player of the year in November, unleashed a right-footed thunderbolt as Saudi Arabia stunned eventual champions Argentina 2-1 in their opening game.
The 32-year-old has long been one of Asia’s best players and is a stalwart for Saudi heavyweights Al Hilal.
