Qatar at the AFC Asian Cup

Since the foundation of the AFC Asian Cup was founded in 1956, Qatar has participated in ten Asian Cups between 1980 and 2023. However, prior to the 2019 edition, Qatar only reached the quarter-finals twice, once in 2000 Asian Cup as one of the two best third-place teams when the tournament had only 12 nations competing, and in 2011, when they finished second in Group A behind Uzbekistan.

In the 2019 AFC Asian Cup, Qatar, who was the first team to qualify aside from hosts United Arab Emirates, exceeded expectations. Before the 2019 Asian Cup, they last won a game outside Qatar in the 1984 Asian Cup, when Singapore hosted the tournament.

In 2019, Qatar won its first six games, as many games as they had won in the previous nine editions, and conceded zero goals. In the knock-out stage, they defeated Iraq, South Korea, and United Arab Emirates before defeating Japan 3–1 in the final to win the Asian Cup for the first time, which has become Qatar's greatest achievement to date, compared to several Gulf rivals like the United Arab Emirates, Bahrain, Kuwait and Iraq.

In 2023, Qatar won all of its matches in the 2023 Asian Cup group stages, and also conceded zero goals. In the knock-out stage, they faced Palestine, Uzbekistan, and Iran, meeting Jordan in the final beating them 3–1 with Akram Afif scoring a hat-trick of penalties, becoming back-to-back Asian Cup champions.

Qatar has hosted the tournament twice, first for the 1988 Asian Cup and also for the 2011 Asian Cup. The 2011 edition was seen as a step for Qatar in preparation for the 2022 FIFA World Cup which was to be hosted in the country.[1][2]

Qatar also recently hosted the 2023 Asian Cup where they won on home soil.[3]

Record

AFC Asian Cup record Qualification record
Year Result Position Pld W D L GF GA Squad Pld W D L GF GA
1956 Protectorate of  United Kingdom Protectorate of  United Kingdom
1960
1964
1968
1972
1976 Did not qualify 6 2 1 3 5 8
1980 Group stage 8th 4 1 1 2 3 8 Squad 4 3 1 0 10 2
1984 5th 4 1 2 1 3 3 Squad 4 3 0 1 11 1
1988 4 2 0 2 7 6 Squad Qualified as hosts
1992 6th 3 0 2 1 3 4 Squad 2 2 0 0 8 2
1996 Did not qualify 4 2 0 2 5 4
2000 Quarter-finals 8th 4 0 3 1 3 5 Squad 4 3 1 0 11 3
2004 Group stage 14th 3 0 1 2 2 4 Squad 6 3 2 1 10 7
2007 3 0 2 1 3 4 Squad 6 5 0 1 14 4
2011 Quarter-finals 7th 4 2 0 2 7 5 Squad Qualified as hosts
2015 Group stage 13th 3 0 0 3 2 7 Squad 6 4 1 1 13 2
2019 Champions 1st 7 7 0 0 19 1 Squad 8 7 0 1 29 4
2023 Champions 7 6 1 0 14 5 Squad 8 7 1 0 18 1
2027 Qualified 6 5 1 0 18 3
Total 2 Titles 12/14 46 19 12 15 66 52 64 46 8 10 163 40

1980 edition

Group B

Pos Team Pld W D L GF GA GD Pts Qualification
1  South Korea 4 3 1 0 10 2 +8 10 Advance to knockout stage
2  Kuwait (H) 4 2 1 1 8 5 +3 7
3  Malaysia 4 1 2 1 5 5 0 5
4  Qatar 4 1 1 2 3 8 −5 4
5  United Arab Emirates 4 0 1 3 3 9 −6 1
Source: RSSSF
(H) Hosts


Qatar 2–1 United Arab Emirates
Muftah 50', 60' Al-Hajri 58'

Qatar 0–2 South Korea
Lee Jung-il 7'
Choi Soon-ho 21'
Referee: Vichai Charupunt (Thailand)


Kuwait 4–0 Qatar
Al-Dakhil 32', 57'
Yaqoub 50' (pen.)
Al-Anberi 66'

1984 edition

Group A

Pos Team Pld W D L GF GA GD Pts Qualification
1  Saudi Arabia 4 2 2 0 4 2 +2 6 Advance to knockout stage
2  Kuwait 4 2 1 1 4 2 +2 5
3  Qatar 4 1 2 1 3 3 0 4
4  Syria 4 1 1 2 3 5 −2 3
5  South Korea 4 0 2 2 1 3 −2 2
Source: RSSSF
Qatar 1–1 Syria
Khalfan 7' Anber 47' (o.g.)

Kuwait 1–0 Qatar
Al-Rumaihi 52' (o.g.)
Attendance: 19,000
Referee: Augusto Lamo (Spain)

Qatar 1–1 Saudi Arabia
Zaid 47' Abduljawad 65'
Attendance: 15,000

South Korea 0–1 Qatar
Salman 69'
Attendance: 2,000
Referee: Augusto Lamo (Spain)

1988 edition

Group A

Pos Team Pld W D L GF GA GD Pts Qualification
1  South Korea 4 4 0 0 9 2 +7 8 Advance to knockout stage
2  Iran 4 2 1 1 3 3 0 5
3  Qatar (H) 4 2 0 2 7 6 +1 4
4  United Arab Emirates 4 1 0 3 2 4 −2 2
5  Japan 4 0 1 3 0 6 −6 1
Source: RSSSF
(H) Hosts
Iran 2–0 Qatar
Bavi 6'
Pious 89'
Report
Attendance: 20,000


Qatar 2–3 South Korea
Salman 47' (pen.), 80' (pen.) Report Chung Hae-Won 10', 72'
Kim Joo-Sung 34'

Japan 0–3 Qatar
Report Khamis 58', 82'
Muftah 90'
Referee: Yusuf Namoğlu (Turkey)

1992 edition

Group B

Pos Team Pld W D L GF GA GD Pts Qualification
1  Saudi Arabia 3 1 2 0 6 2 +4 4 Advance to knockout stage
2  China 3 1 2 0 3 2 +1 4
3  Qatar 3 0 2 1 3 4 −1 2
4  Thailand 3 0 2 1 1 5 −4 2
Thailand 1–1 Qatar
Thanis 42' Report Soufi 81'
Attendance: 21,000
Referee: Hossein Khoshkhan (Iran)

Saudi Arabia 1–1 Qatar
Al-Muwallid 86' Report Mustafa 74'
Attendance: 4,000
Referee: Neji Jouini (Tunisia)

Qatar 1–2 China
Al-Sulaiti 20' Report Peng Weiguo 44', 58'
Attendance: 4,500

2000 edition

Group C

Pos Team Pld W D L GF GA GD Pts Qualification
1  Japan 3 2 1 0 13 3 +10 7 Advance to knockout stage
2  Saudi Arabia 3 1 1 1 6 4 +2 4
3  Qatar 3 0 3 0 2 2 0 3
4  Uzbekistan 3 0 1 2 2 14 −12 1
Source: RSSSF
Qatar 1–1 Uzbekistan
Gholam 61' Report Qosimov 73'
Attendance: 5,000
Referee: Mohd Nazri Abdullah (Malaysia)

Saudi Arabia 0–0 Qatar
Report
Attendance: 5,000
Referee: Tajaddin Fares (Syria)

Japan 1–1 Qatar
Nishizawa 61' Report Al-Obaidly 22'
Attendance: 2,000
Referee: Nabil Ayad (Lebanon)

Quarter-finals

China 3–1 Qatar
Li Ming 9'
Qi Hong 38'
Yang Chen 54'
Report Al-Enazi 65'
Attendance: 3,000
Referee: Mohd Nazri Abdullah (Malaysia)

2004 edition

Group A

Pos Team Pld W D L GF GA GD Pts Qualification
1  China (H) 3 2 1 0 8 2 +6 7 Advance to knockout stage
2  Bahrain 3 1 2 0 6 4 +2 5
3  Indonesia 3 1 0 2 3 9 −6 3
4  Qatar 3 0 1 2 2 4 −2 1
Source: RSSSF
(H) Hosts
Qatar 1–2 Indonesia
M. Mohamed 83' Report Sudarsono 26'
Astaman 48'
Attendance: 5,000
Referee: Masoud Moradi (Iran)

Bahrain 1–1 Qatar
M. Hubail 90+1' Report Rizik 59' (pen.)
Attendance: 48,000
Referee: Toru Kamikawa (Japan)

China 1–0 Qatar
Xu Yunlong 77' Report
Attendance: 60,000
Referee: Masoud Moradi (Iran)

2007 edition

Group B

Pos Team Pld W D L GF GA GD Pts Qualification
1  Japan 3 2 1 0 8 3 +5 7 Advance to knockout stage
2  Vietnam (H) 3 1 1 1 4 5 −1 4
3  United Arab Emirates 3 1 0 2 3 6 −3 3
4  Qatar 3 0 2 1 3 4 −1 2
Source: AFC
Rules for classification: Tiebreakers
(H) Hosts
Japan 1–1 Qatar
Takahara 61' Report Soria 88'

Qatar 1–1 Vietnam
Soria 79' Report Phan Thanh Bình 32'
Attendance: 40,000
Referee: Masoud Moradi (Iran)

Qatar 1–2 United Arab Emirates
Soria 42' (pen.) Report Al-Kass 60'
Khalil 90+4'

2011 edition

Group A

Pos Team Pld W D L GF GA GD Pts Qualification
1  Uzbekistan 3 2 1 0 6 3 +3 7 Advance to knockout stage
2  Qatar (H) 3 2 0 1 5 2 +3 6
3  China 3 1 1 1 4 4 0 4
4  Kuwait 3 0 0 3 1 7 −6 0
Source: AFC
Rules for classification: Tiebreakers
(H) Hosts
7 January 2011
Qatar  0–2  Uzbekistan
12 January 2011
China  0–2  Qatar
16 January 2011
Qatar  3–0  Kuwait

Quarter-finals

Japan 3–2 Qatar
Kagawa 29', 71'
Inoha 89'
Report Soria 13'
Fábio César 63'

2015 edition

Group C

Pos Team Pld W D L GF GA GD Pts Qualification
1  Iran 3 3 0 0 4 0 +4 9 Advance to knockout stage
2  United Arab Emirates 3 2 0 1 6 3 +3 6
3  Bahrain 3 1 0 2 3 5 −2 3
4  Qatar 3 0 0 3 2 7 −5 0
Source: Asian Cup Australia 2015
Rules for classification: Tiebreakers
11 January 2015
United Arab Emirates  4–1  Qatar Canberra Stadium, Canberra
15 January 2015
Qatar  0–1  Iran Stadium Australia, Sydney
19 January 2015
Qatar  1–2  Bahrain Stadium Australia, Sydney

2019 edition

Group E

Pos Team Pld W D L GF GA GD Pts Qualification
1  Qatar 3 3 0 0 10 0 +10 9 Advance to knockout stage
2  Saudi Arabia 3 2 0 1 6 2 +4 6
3  Lebanon 3 1 0 2 4 5 −1 3
4  North Korea 3 0 0 3 1 14 −13 0
Source: AFC
Qatar 2–0 Lebanon
Report
Attendance: 7,847
Referee: Ma Ning (China PR)

North Korea 0–6 Qatar
Report

Saudi Arabia 0–2 Qatar
Report

Round of 16

Qatar 1–0 Iraq
Report
Attendance: 14,701

Quarter-finals

South Korea 0–1 Qatar
Report

Semi-finals

Qatar 4–0 United Arab Emirates
Report

Final

Japan 1–3 Qatar
Report

2023 edition

Group A

Pos Team 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
(H) Hosts
Qatar 3–0 Lebanon
Report
Attendance: 82,490

Tajikistan 0–1 Qatar
Report
Attendance: 57,460
Referee: Hiroyuki Kimura (Japan)

Qatar 1–0 China
Report
Attendance: 42,104
Referee: Abdullah Jamali (Kuwait)

Knockout stage

Round of 16

Qatar 2–1 Palestine
Report
Attendance: 63,753
Referee: Ma Ning (China)

Quarter-finals

Semi-finals

Iran 2–3 Qatar
Report
Attendance: 40,342
Referee: Ahmad Al-Ali (Kuwait)

Final

Jordan 1–3 Qatar
Report
Attendance: 86,492
Referee: Ma Ning (China)[5]

See also

References

  1. ^ "Qatar only nation to submit formal bid for 2011 Asian Cup". June 25, 2007 – via www.reuters.com.
  2. ^ "Five things we've learned from Qatar's Asian Cup". CNN. Archived from the original on February 7, 2011.
  3. ^ Nair, Rohith; Nair, Rohith (2024-02-10). "Afif nets penalty hat-trick as Qatar beat Jordan to retain Asian Cup crown". Reuters. Retrieved 2025-09-19.
  4. ^ "AFC Asian Cup, match report: Japan 1–3 Qatar". The-AFC.com. Asian Football Confederation. 1 February 2019. Retrieved 1 February 2019.
  5. ^ "AFC Asian Cup Qatar 2023 Match Officials - Final 10 February" (PDF). Asian Football Confederation. Retrieved 8 February 2024.

Head-to-head record