AFC Asian Cup Qatar 2023/ Arab Teams Eye 7th Trophy Leveraging Home Advantage

Doha, January 08 (QNA) - The Arab teams participating in the 18th edition of the AFC Asian Cup Qatar 2023, hosted by Doha from Jan.12 to Feb.10, are looking forward to keeping hold of the new edition of the continental title. They will be trying to claim the second title in a row after the Qatari team won the last edition in 2019, on a ground that has always been a good omen for the Arab teams. This is evidenced by the fact that four of the six titles were gained on Arab soil. In 1980, hosts Kuwait secured the first Arab achievement, ushering an era of Arab domination that lasted eight years, after the Saudi team won the second Arab title in Singapore in 1984 and retaining it in Qatar in 1988. This confirmed the victory of the home teams for the second time after the first in Kuwait. Despite a phase of absence either as hosts of tournaments or winners of the title, Arabs marked again their presence in the UAE in 1996, when the Saudi team won the third title in an all-Arab final against hosts the UAE. With the rise of the Japanese giant in 1992, Japan won the two editions in Lebanon 2000 and China 2004. After Iraq won the 2007 tournament held in Malaysia, Indonesia, Vietnam and Thailand, no titles were won by the Arab teams, including in Qatar 2011. But in 2019, the Qatari team was crowned with the first title in their history. The AFC Asian Cup Qatar 2023 includes 10 Arab teams: Qatar, Saudi Arabia, Iraq, Lebanon, Oman, Syria, UAE, Jordan, Palestine and Bahrain, whereas the previous edition in the UAE saw the participation of 11 Arab teams. Four Arab teams managed to qualify for the AFC Asian Cup Qatar 2023, after topping their groups in the second round of qualifiers: Qatar, Saudi Arabia, the Emirates, and Syria. However, three teams: Iraq, Lebanon, and Oman, booked their seats for the Asian finals after finishing among the best four teams that ranked second in the same round of the qualifiers. The teams of Jordan, Palestine and Bahrain joined the qualified Arab teams by topping their groups in the qualifiers for the Asian Cup only. The teams of Qatar, Saudi Arabia and the Emirates are the most present among the ten Arab teams in the Asian Cup finals, and their current participation will be their eleventh each. The focus will be primarily on specific Arab teams, especially those that are entering the competition as contenders for the trophy, such as the title holders Qatar. The Saudi national team is a candidate to compete for the AFC Asian Cup Qatar 2023, with their history in the continental tournament, having won the title on three occasions before, in addition to runner-up on three other occasions in 1992, 2000 and 2007. For their part, the Iraqi team seek to recall periods of brilliance when they won the continental title in 2007 in Indonesia, Malaysia, Vietnam and Thailand, for the first time in the history of the tournament. The UAE national team hopes to be a strong competitor in order to go far after reaching the semi-finals in the previous two editions, 2015 in Australia and 2019 on home soil, while its best results remain runner-up in the 1996 edition. The Bahraini and Syrian teams are participating for the seventh time, and Bahrain's best result was fourth place in the 2004 edition, while the Syrian team did not advance beyond the group stage in any of its previous six participations. Jordan and Oman are appearing for the fifth time in a bid to do better this time. The best results for the Jordanian team were reaching the quarter-finals twice in the 2004 and 2011 editions, while the best results for the Omani team included qualifying for the previous edition but exiting from the group stage in their first three appearances. The Lebanese and Palestine teams are the least participating among the Arab teams, with each of them qualifying for the third time and having never advanced beyond the group stage. The Kuwaiti team, the first Arab champion of the Asian Cup in 1980, remain the most notable absentee from the tournament for the second time in a row.