AFC Asian Cup 2023, Group A preview: Teams, squad; Defending champion Qatar favourites

The 18th edition of the AFC Asian Cup, the biggest tournament on the continental stage in Asia, is set to begin in Qatar on January 12 at the Lusail Stadium in Doha. The competition, which started in 1958 with four teams expanded to 24 teams in 2019 and will have the expanded format in 2024. Here is the preview of Group A, which comprises Qatar, China, Tajikistan and Lebanon.

FIFA Ranking: 58 Best finish: Champion (2019) Coach: Tintin Marquez (Spain) Prospects: Qatar, led by Marquez since Carlos Queiroz was sacked in December, will be looking to bury the memory of its winless World Cup campaign as the host in 2022. In 2019, Qatar claimed their first AFC Asian Cup™ title after a historic unbeaten run that saw them concede only one goal during the entire tournament.

The core of the young team that won the continental title in fine style in 2019 remains but recent results suggest it might struggle to replicate its fairytale run in the United Arab Emirates. FIFA Ranking: 79 Best finish: Runner up (1984, 2004) Coach: Aleksandar Jankovic (Serbia) Prospects: China’s ambitions have not been matched by its performance at the Asian Cup in the two decades since it made its second appearance in the final and lost to Japan.

Team China land in Qatar, ready for their action! Jankovic, who was promoted from coaching the country’s age group teams last year, will believe he has enough quality in his squad to get to the quarterfinals, as China did in 2015 and 2019. FIFA Ranking: 106 Best finish: Debut Coach: Petar Segrt (Croatia) Prospects: Tajikistan punched its ticket to its first major international tournament after finishing unbeaten in the final round of qualifying.

Welcome to Doha, team Tajikistan! Physicality and defensive steel are the bedrock of its game but Segrt has added a more fluid attacking style since taking over as coach in 2022. FIFA Ranking: 107 Best finish: Group stage (2000, 2019) Coach: Miodrag Radulovic (Montenegro) Prospects: Lebanon achieved its first Asian Cup finals victory with a 4 1 win over North Korea in 2019 but lost out on a place in the knockouts as one of the best third placed teams because of its fair play rating.

Lebanon will be playing under former coach Radulovic, who has returned to the national team with a shot at redemption in the Asian Cup. | Photo Credit: Special Arrangement Radulovic returned for a second spell as coach in December and has brought a string of experienced players back into the squad for the Qatar campaign.

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