2023 AFC Asian Cup Group A

Group A of the 2023 AFC Asian Cup took place from 12 to 22 January 2024. ^[1] The group consisted of hosts and defending champions Qatar, China, tournament debutants Tajikistan, and Lebanon. ^[2] The top two teams, Qatar and Tajikistan, advanced to the round of 16.

Teams

Draw position	Team	Zone	Method of qualification	Date of qualification	Finals appearance	Last appearance	Previous best performance	FIFA Rankings
								April 2023 [nb 1]	December 2023
A1	Qatar	WAFF	Hosts and Second round Group E winners	7 June 2021	11th	2019	Winners (2019)	61	58
A2	China	EAFF	Second round Group A runners-up	15 June 2021	13th	2019	Runners-up (1984, 2004)	81	79
A3	Tajikistan	CAFA	Third round Group F winners	14 June 2022	1st	—	Debut	109	106
A4	Lebanon	WAFF	Second round Group H runners-up	15 June 2021	3rd	2019	Group stage (2000, 2019)	99	107

Notes

1. The rankings of April 2023 were used for seeding for the final draw.

Standings

Pos	Team v t e	Pld	W	D	L	GF	GA	GD	Pts	Qualification
1	Qatar (H)	3	3	0	0	5	0	+5	9	Advance to knockout stage
2	Tajikistan	3	1	1	1	2	2	0	4
3	China	3	0	2	1	0	1	−1	2
4	Lebanon	3	0	1	2	1	5	−4	1

Source: AFC
Rules for classification: Group stage tiebreakers
(H) Hosts

Matches

All match times are local, AST (UTC+3).

Qatar vs Lebanon

The match was originally scheduled to take place at Al Bayt Stadium, Al Khor. However, the AFC confirmed in 21 August 2023 that the match would be moved to Lusail Stadium, Lusail due to significant interest for fans. ^[3]

This was the sides' second straight fixture in the tournament, having also met in the previous edition, which was won by Qatar 2–0. Qatar had never lost to Lebanon in their history, with ten wins and three draws in their thirteen previous meetings.

Akram Afif struck once late in each half and Almoez Ali scored another as Qatar cruised to a 3–0 win. Adding on to the seven out of seven matches won in their 2019 title-winning campaign, Qatar thus extended their streak to eight consecutive victories in the competition.

12 January 2024 (2024-01-12)

19:00

Qatar	3–0	Lebanon
Afif 45', 90+6' Ali 56'	Report

Lusail Stadium, Lusail

Attendance: 82,490

Referee: Alireza Faghani (Australia)

Qatar

Lebanon

GK 22 Meshaal Barsham CB 2 Ró-Ró  90' CB 3 Al-Mahdi Ali Mukhtar CB 12 Lucas Mendes DM 20 Ahmed Fatehi RM 10 Hassan Al-Haydos (c)  57' CM 6 Abdulaziz Hatem  79' CM 4 Mohammed Waad  72' LM 11 Akram Afif SS 9 Yusuf Abdurisag  57' CF 19 Almoez Ali  78' Substitutions: MF 23 Mostafa Meshaal  57' FW 17 Ismaeel Mohammad  57' DF 14 Homam Ahmed  72' FW 7 Ahmed Alaaeldin  86'  78' MF 24 Jassem Gaber  79' Manager: Tintín Márquez

GK 21 Mostafa Matar RB 12 Robert Alexander Melki CB 18 Kassem El Zein CB 16 Walid Shour  70' LB 4 Nour Mansour RM 6 Hussein Zein CM 20 Ali Tneich LM 5 Nassar Nassar  87' AM 22 Bassel Jradi  80' AM 10 Mohamad Haidar  51'  70' CF 7 Hassan Maatouk (c)  70' Substitutions: MF 26 Hasan Srour  80'  70' FW 9 Hilal El-Helwe  70' FW 11 Omar Chaaban  70' FW 24 Gabriel Bitar  80' FW 8 Soony Saad  87' Manager: Miodrag Radulović

Man of the Match: Akram Afif (Qatar) Assistant referees: Anton Shchetinin (Australia) Ashley Beecham (Australia) Fourth official: Ko Hyung-jin (South Korea) Reserve assistant referee: Yoon Jae-yeol (South Korea) Video assistant referee: Shaun Evans (Australia) Assistant video assistant referees: Kate Jacewicz (Australia)

China vs Tajikistan

This was the sides' first competitive meeting since the 1998 FIFA World Cup qualification phase, a 0–0 draw. Their most recent meeting was a friendly match in 2019, with China securing a 1–0 victory. In fact, China had never lost to Tajikistan in all five of their previous encounters.

The match was mostly dominated by Tajikistan, who nevertheless failed to convert a single chance from their dominant display into a goal. Their best chance came in the 26th minute when Alisher Dzhalilov was left unmarked in the penalty area, but aimed his shot wide of the post. In the 81st minute, however, in one of China's rare attacking opportunities from a corner kick, Zhu Chenjie appeared to give his side a 1–0 lead from a header, but the goal was disallowed by the VAR system after Tyias Browning was judged to have interfered with play from an offside position.

13 January 2024 (2024-01-13)

17:30

China	0–0	Tajikistan
	Report

Abdullah bin Khalifa Stadium, Doha

Attendance: 4,001

Referee: Mohammed Al Hoish (Saudi Arabia)

China

Tajikistan

GK 1 Yan Junling RB 5 Zhang Linpeng (c) CB 3 Zhu Chenjie CB 2 Tyias Browning LB 19 Liu Yang CM 18 Dai Wai Tsun  72' CM 6 Wang Shangyuan  28' RW 7 Wu Lei  72' AM 26 Wang Qiuming  58' LW 21 Liu Binbin CF 11 Tan Long  58' Substitutions: MF 8 Xu Xin  58' FW 9 Zhang Yuning  58' MF 23 Lin Liangming  72' MF 10 Xie Pengfei  72' Manager: Aleksandar Janković

GK 1 Rustam Yatimov RB 5 Manuchekhr Safarov CB 6 Vakhdat Khanonov CB 2 Zoir Dzhuraboyev LB 19 Akhtam Nazarov CM 7 Parvizdzhon Umarbayev (c)  74' CM 14 Alisher Shukurov  89' CM 16 Ehson Panjshanbe RF 13 Amadoni Kamolov  90+6' CF 9 Rustam Soirov  89' LF 10 Alisher Dzhalilov Substitutions: MF 20 Alidzhoni Ayni  89' FW 22 Shahrom Samiev  90+4'  89' FW 15 Shervoni Mabatshoev  90+6' Manager: Petar Šegrt

Man of the Match: Liu Yang (China) Assistant referees: Khalaf Al-Shammari (Saudi Arabia) Yasir Al-Sultan (Saudi Arabia) Fourth official: Nazmi Nasaruddin (Malaysia) Reserve assistant referee: Mohamad Zairul Bin Khalil Tan (Malaysia) Video assistant referee: Khalid Al-Turais (Saudi Arabia) Assistant video assistant referees: Abdullah Jamali (Kuwait)

Lebanon vs China

This was the first time the sides faced each other in the Asian Cup. Their most recent encounter dated back to 2009, having played home and away during 2011 AFC Asian Cup qualification, with China emerging victorious in both fixtures. China had never lost against their West Asian counterpart in all five previous meetings, with four wins and one draw.

The opening minutes saw Liu Yang's attempt to deliver a high pass blocked, as no Chinese player managed to capitalize on the opportunity before Lebanon's Maher Sabra cleared the ball with a decisive header in the 19th minute. Lebanon, in turn, launched persistent attacks on China's goal, beginning with Hassan Maatouk's long-range shot in the 24th minute. A counterattack ensued, with Omar Chaaban's shot going just wide of the net in the 34th minute, followed by Khalil Khamis sending a header wide a minute later. In the 44th minute, a well-placed high ball from the left flank by Dai Wai Tsun led to Zhang Yuning's powerful shot, only for Lebanese keeper Mostafa Matar to deny it with a double save. Wu Lei attempted to seize the rebound, but Matar ultimately emerged victorious.

The first half concluded with Maatouk's long-distance attempt for Lebanon in stoppage time, hitting the crossbar of Yan Junling's net. As the second half unfolded, Lebanon continued to test China with long-range shots, including a notable 63rd-minute attempt by Hassan Srour also hitting the crossbar. However, China gradually asserted dominance in the later stages of the half. Despite both teams intensifying their efforts, the match concluded in a goalless draw.

The outcome of the match held significance for China, as it marked an unwanted record of failing to score in three consecutive Asian Cup matches, a feat previously unprecedented for the team in tournament history.

17 January 2024 (2024-01-17)

14:30

Lebanon	0–0	China
	Report

Al Thumama Stadium, Doha

Attendance: 14,137

Referee: Ko Hyung-jin (South Korea)

Lebanon

China

GK 21 Mostafa Matar CB 18 Kassem El Zein CB 4 Nour Mansour  18' CB 13 Khalil Khamis RM 6 Hussein Zein CM 25 Hasan Srour  90+3' CM 20 Ali Tneich LM 3 Maher Sabra AM 22 Bassel Jradi CF 7 Hassan Maatouk (c)  71' CF 11 Omar Chaaban  90+3' Substitutions: DF 12 Robert Alexander Melki  18' MF 10 Mohamad Haidar  71' FW 9 Hilal El-Helwe  90+3' MF 16 Walid Shour  90+3' Manager: Miodrag Radulović

GK 1 Yan Junling RB 5 Zhang Linpeng (c) CB 3 Zhu Chenjie CB 2 Tyias Browning LB 19 Liu Yang CM 8 Xu Xin  71' CM 6 Wang Shangyuan CM 18 Dai Wai Tsun RF 7 Wu Lei  66' CF 9 Zhang Yuning  30'  66' LF 21 Liu Binbin  71' Substitutions: FW 11 Tan Long  66' MF 23 Lin Liangming  66' MF 10 Xie Pengfei  71' MF 15 Wu Xi  71' Manager: Aleksandar Janković

Man of the Match: Mostafa Matar (Lebanon) Assistant referees: Park Sang-jun (South Korea) Kim Kyoung-min (South Korea) Fourth official: Ilgiz Tantashev (Uzbekistan) Reserve assistant referee: Andrey Tsapenko (Uzbekistan) Video assistant referee: Kim Jong-hyeok (South Korea) Assistant video assistant referees: Kim Hee-gon (South Korea)

Tajikistan vs Qatar

This was the sides' first meeting in the tournament and their first in any competition for twelve years, having met in 2012 where Tajikistan beat the Qataris 2–1 in a friendly. This was also the first competitive fixture to occur between the two. Qatar had only lost once against the sole debutant of this competition after four matches, with the three other encounters ending in Qatari victories.

Tajikistan made a bright start by applying early pressure on to push Qatar on the defence, however a ball won in the midfield saw Almoez Ali seize the opportunity as he provided a clinical pass for Akram Afif, who then struck the net despite Rustam Yatimov's effort to secure Qatar's lead, which turned out to be the only goal of the match. In the 77th minute, in a failed attack from Qatar, Amadoni Kamolov quickly intercepted but his attempt was prevented by Mohammed Waad and Ahmed Al Ganehi, which he later fell and his feet hit the face of Al Ganehi; later VAR consultation resulted in Kamolov being dismissed from the match at the 81st minute, thus killing any hope of a Tajikistani comeback.

17 January 2024 (2024-01-17)

17:30

Tajikistan	0–1	Qatar
	Report	Afif 17'

Al Bayt Stadium, Al Khor

Attendance: 57,460

Referee: Hiroyuki Kimura (Japan)

Tajikistan

Qatar

GK 1 Rustam Yatimov RB 5 Manuchekhr Safarov  35' CB 6 Vakhdat Khanonov  81' CB 2 Zoir Dzhuraboyev LB 19 Akhtam Nazarov (c)  82' RM 13 Amadoni Kamolov  81' CM 7 Parvizdzhon Umarbayev  82' CM 14 Alisher Shukurov  90+1' CM 17 Ehson Panjshanbe CF 9 Rustam Soirov  46' CF 10 Alisher Dzhalilov  90+1' Substitutions: FW 22 Shahrom Samiev  46' FW 15 Shervoni Mabatshoev  82' DF 3 Tabrezi Davlatmir  82' MF 20 Alidzhoni Ayni  90+10'  90+1' FW 25 Nuriddin Khamrokulov  90+1' Manager: Petar Šegrt

GK 22 Meshaal Barsham RB 15 Bassam Al-Rawi CB 5 Tarek Salman CB 12 Lucas Mendes LB 4 Mohammed Waad  60' CM 23 Mostafa Meshaal  59' CM 20 Ahmed Fatehi  45+1'  65' CM 24 Jassem Gaber  88' RF 17 Ismaeel Mohammad (c)  46' CF 19 Almoez Ali LF 11 Akram Afif Substitutions: FW 25 Ahmed Al Ganehi  46' MF 10 Hassan Al-Haydos  59' DF 16 Boualem Khoukhi  65' DF 2 Ró-Ró  90+11'  88' Manager: Tintín Márquez

Man of the Match: Akram Afif (Qatar) Assistant referees: Jun Mihara (Japan) Takumi Takagi (Japan) Fourth official: Yoshimi Yamashita (Japan) Reserve assistant referee: Naomi Teshirogi (Japan) Video assistant referee: Jumpei Iida (Japan) Assistant video assistant referees: Yusuke Araki (Japan)

Qatar vs China

This fixture marked the fifth time that the two sides met each other in the Asian Cup. Their most recent meeting in the competition saw the Qatar win 2–0 in 2011, a tournament also held in Qatar. However, the teams' most recent meeting in any competitive fixture occurred during 2018 FIFA World Cup qualification, where China defeated Qatar away 2–1; both matches took place at the Khalifa International Stadium.

The first half saw China aggressively attempt to score against a largely rotated Qatari side, but they failed to do so despite some big opportunities. This proved costly when at the 66th minute, from a perfectly combined corner kick, Hassan Al-Haydos produced a thunderous volley to score the only goal of the match as Qatar confirmed first place in the group with maximum points.

This result meant China had failed to score in four consecutive Asian Cup matches for the first time; following Syria's win over India in Group B, China were eliminated from the tournament, marking their worst-ever performance during participation. Meanwhile, Qatar managed to advance past the group stage for the second consecutive Asian Cup without conceding a goal.

22 January 2024 (2024-01-22)

18:00

Qatar	1–0	China
Al-Haydos 66'	Report

Khalifa International Stadium, Al Rayyan

Attendance: 42,104

Referee: Abdullah Jamali (Kuwait)

Qatar

China

GK 1 Saad Al-Sheeb (c)  46' RB 15 Bassam Al-Rawi  70' CB 3 Al-Mahdi Ali Mukhtar CB 16 Boualem Khoukhi LB 18 Sultan Al-Brake CM 8 Ali Assadalla CM 6 Abdulaziz Hatem  46' CM 23 Mostafa Meshaal  64' RF 9 Yusuf Abdurisag  64' CF 7 Ahmed Alaaeldin  46' LF 13 Khalid Muneer  80' Substitutions: GK 21 Salah Zakaria  46'  63' FW 25 Ahmed Al Ganehi  88'  46' MF 24 Jassem Gaber  46' GK 22 Meshaal Barsham  63' MF 10 Hassan Al-Haydos  64' FW 11 Akram Afif  64' Manager: Tintín Márquez

GK 1 Yan Junling RB 5 Zhang Linpeng CB 2 Tyias Browning CB 3 Zhu Chenjie LB 19 Liu Yang RM 23 Lin Liangming  75' CM 6 Wang Shangyuan  85' CM 15 Wu Xi (c)  67' LM 21 Liu Binbin  46' SS 20 Wei Shihao  67' CF 9 Zhang Yuning Substitutions: MF 10 Xie Pengfei  46' MF 8 Xu Xin  67' MF 7 Wu Lei  67' FW 11 Tan Long  75' DF 24 Jiang Shenglong  85' Manager: Aleksandar Janković

Man of the Match: Bassam Al-Rawi (Qatar) Assistant referees: Abdulhadi Al-Anezi (Kuwait) Ahmad Abbas (Kuwait) Fourth official: Shaun Evans (Australia) Reserve assistant referee: Anton Shchetinin (Australia) Video assistant referee: Ahmad Al-Ali (Kuwait) Assistant video assistant referees: Adel Al-Naqbi (United Arab Emirates)

Tajikistan vs Lebanon

This was the sides' first ever meeting.

In the first half's fifth minute of injury time, Shervoni Mabatshoev managed to score for Tajikistan at the near-left post, only to be ruled out for offside. This was later capitalised on by the Lebanese when, from a counterattack, Bassel Jradi produced a brilliant curled effort to record Lebanon's first goal of the competition and give them the lead. However, a brutal foul by Lebanon's Kassem El Zein on Alisher Dzhalilov in the 52nd minute resulted in his dismissal, and Tajikistan then ramped up pressure further, with Dzhalilov scoring in the 70th minute only to be once again ruled offside. Nonetheless, Tajikistan got their reward in the 80th minute when, from a free kick, Parvizdzhon Umarbayev curled the ball into the net to give Tajikistan the equaliser. Empowered by the goal, Tajikistan then went in front when Nuriddin Khamrokulov struck a strong header thanks to a cross from Ehson Panjshanbe in the second minute of stoppage time. Tajikistan thus knocked Lebanon out of the competition and secured second place in their debut group stage campaign, progressing to the last 16.

22 January 2024 (2024-01-22)

18:00

Tajikistan	2–1	Lebanon
Umarbayev 80' Khamrokulov 90+2'	Report	Jradi 47'

Jassim bin Hamad Stadium, Al Rayyan

Attendance: 11,843

Referee: Mohanad Qasim Sarray (Iraq)

Tajikistan

Lebanon

GK 1 Rustam Yatimov RB 5 Manuchekhr Safarov CB 6 Vakhdat Khanonov CB 2 Zoir Dzhuraboyev  27' LB 19 Akhtam Nazarov (c)  90+12' RM 15 Shervoni Mabatshoev  72' CM 7 Parvizdzhon Umarbayev CM 14 Alisher Shukurov  72' LM 17 Ehson Panjshanbe  90+7' CF 9 Rustam Soirov  72' CF 10 Alisher Dzhalilov  88' Substitutions: MF 11 Mukhammadzhon Rakhimov  72' FW 22 Shahrom Samiev  72' FW 25 Nuriddin Khamrokulov  72' MF 18 Ruslan Khayloev  90+12'  88' DF 3 Tabrezi Davlatmir  90+12' Manager: Petar Šegrt

GK 21 Mostafa Matar  77' CB 13 Khalil Khamis CB 12 Robert Alexander Melki CB 18 Kassem El Zein  56' RM 6 Hussein Zein  90+4' CM 20 Ali Tneich  82' CM 25 Hasan Srour LM 5 Nassar Nassar  82' AM 22 Bassel Jradi  82' CF 11 Omar Chaaban  67' CF 7 Hassan Maatouk (c)  58' Substitutions: MF 16 Walid Shour  58' FW 9 Hilal El-Helwe  67' MF 10 Mohamad Haidar  82' FW 19 Daniel Kuri  82' FW 24 Gabriel Bitar  82' Manager: Miodrag Radulović

Man of the Match: Parvizdzhon Umarbayev (Tajikistan) Assistant referees: Watheq Al-Swaiedi (Iraq) Ahmed Al-Baghdadi (Iraq) Fourth official: Ahmed Al-Kaf (Oman) Reserve assistant referee: Rashid Al-Ghaithi (Oman) Video assistant referee: Khalid Al-Turais (Saudi Arabia) Assistant video assistant referees: Mohammed Al Hoish (Saudi Arabia)

Discipline

Fair play points would have been used as tiebreakers if the overall and head-to-head records of teams were tied. These were calculated based on yellow and red cards received in all group matches as follows:

• first yellow card: −1 point;
• indirect red card (second yellow card): −3 points;
• direct red card: −3 points;
• yellow card and direct red card: −4 points;

Only one of the above deductions was applied to a player in a single match.

Team	Match 1				Match 2				Match 3				Points
Qatar	2				3				3				–8
China	1				1								–2
Tajikistan	2				3		1		3				–11
Lebanon	2								2		1		–7

References

1. ""Match Schedule – AFC Asian Cup Qatar 2023"" (PDF). Asian Football Confederation. 11 May 2023. Retrieved 13 May 2023.
2. "#AsianCup2023 Groups Finalised". Asian Football Confederation. Retrieved 11 May 2023.
3. "#AsianCup2023 adds world-class Lusail Stadium to elevate fan experience". the-afc. Asian Football Confederation. 21 August 2023. Retrieved 22 August 2023.

External links

• Official website