Agony and ecstasy

Sun, 04 Feb, 2024

Agony and ecstasy

Doha: The AFC Asian Cup Qatar 2023™ is down to four teams after an exhilarating quarter-final stage.

Islamic Republic of Iran, Jordan, Korea Republic and Qatar advanced after tight last eight ties with Australia, Japan, Tajikistan and Uzbekistan bidding farewell.
 
The quarter-final ties witnessed a gamut of emotions - on and off the pitch - and the-AFC.com shares the joy and despair of the players and fans. 

Semi-finals primed to be sizzlers

Sun, 04 Feb, 2024

Semi-finals primed to be sizzlers

Doha: The AFC Asian Cup Qatar 2023™ semi-finals are set to be blockbusters after Qatar and Islamic Republic of Iran completed the cast on Saturday. 

Jordan will meet Korea Republic in the first semi-final on Tuesday while Iran will play defending champions Qatar on Wednesday.

Lopez: Qatar's focus is only on semi-final

Sun, 04 Feb, 2024

Lopez: Qatar's focus is only on semi-final

Al Khor: Qatar head coach Marquez Lopez is refusing to look beyond his side’s AFC Asian Cup Qatar 2023™ semi-final meeting with the Islamic Republic of Iran as the host nation moved a step closer to successfully defending the title with a 3-2 penalty shoot-out win over Uzbekistan.

Goalkeeper Meshaal Barsham was the hero for the 2019 champions after a 1-1 draw at Al Bayt Stadium on Saturday, the Al Sadd man saving three penalties after 120 minutes of action could not separate the two teams.

Katanec confident bright future awaits Uzbekistan

Sun, 04 Feb, 2024

Katanec confident bright future awaits Uzbekistan

Al Khor: Head coach Srecko Katanec urged his Uzbekistan players to learn from their defeat to Qatar in the AFC Asian Cup Qatar 2023™ quarter-finals on Saturday and bounce back stronger.

Uzbekistan’s quest to emulate, if not better, their 2011 achievement of a fourth place finish came to an end when Pedro Correia scored the winning penalty for Qatar after goalkeeper Meshaal Barsham had saved Jaloliddin Masharipov's spot-kick, with the defending champions winning the shoot-out 3-2.

Japan victory a turning point for Iranian football, says Ghalenoei

Sun, 04 Feb, 2024

Japan victory a turning point for Iranian football, says Ghalenoei

Doha: Head coach Amir Ghalenoei believes Islamic Republic of Iran’s 2-1 victory over Japan in the quarter-finals of the AFC Asian Cup Qatar 2023™ can be a turning point for the nation’s football.

Team Melli came from a goal down at Education City Stadium to defeat the Samurai Blue thanks to two second-half goals from Mohammad Mohebi and Alireza Jahanbakhsh to reach the last four of the AFC Asian Cup for the second time in a row, with defending champions Qatar their next opponents.

Moriyasu accepts responsibility for Japan’s exit

Sun, 04 Feb, 2024

Moriyasu accepts responsibility for Japan’s exit

Al Rayyan: Hajime Moriyasu took responsibility for Japan’s 2-1 defeat to Islamic Republic of Iran in their AFC Asian Cup Qatar 2023™ quarter-final at Education City Stadium on Saturday.

The loss meant the Samurai Blue’s bid for a record-extending fifth title continues, having last emerged champions in 2011.  

Qatar show resilience to advance

Sun, 04 Feb, 2024

Qatar show resilience to advance

Al Khor: Qatar were made to work hard to keep their title defence on track, needing penalties to defeat Uzbekistan in their AFC Asian Cup Qatar 2023™ quarter-final on Saturday.

The defending champions found themselves pegged by an exciting Uzbekistan but did just enough to win the shoot-out 3-2.
 
The-AFC.com takes a look at some interesting facts and figures from the last eight tie.

Qatar edge Uzbekistan in dramatic shoot-out to keep dream alive

Sun, 04 Feb, 2024

Qatar edge Uzbekistan in dramatic shoot-out to keep dream alive

Al Khor: Defending champions Qatar will face the Islamic Republic of Iran in Wednesday’s semi-final of the AFC Asian Cup Qatar 2023™ after Marquez Lopes’ side handed Uzbekistan a 3-2 penalty shoot-out defeat at Al Bayt Stadium on Saturday following a 1-1 draw.

Goalkeeper Meshaal Barsham saved spot-kicks from Rustamjon Ashurmatov, Zafarmurod Abdirakhmatov and Jaloliddin Masharipov to set Pedro Correia up to score the winning penalty and take the hosts into the last four.
 
The shoot-out win came after the Qataris had taken the lead in the 27th minute when captain Hassan Al Haydos shot from a tight angle and Utkir Yusupov slapped the ball over his own goal line but Odiljon Hamrobekov levelled in the 58th minute with a low strike.