The finals for the AFC Asian Cup 2019 are here and we cannot wait to find out who will be crowned the champions of Asia. It was held in the United Arab Emirates from 5 January to 1 February 2019.
The 2019 AFC Asian Cup was the 17th edition of the AFC Asian Cup, the quadrennial international men’s football championship of Asia organized by the Asian Football Confederation (AFC).
In total, 24 nations from across the continent fought it out in the United Arab Emirates (UAE) between January 5 and February 1, in order to decide who takes the prestigious trophy home.
For the first time, the Asian Cup final tournament was contested by 24 teams, having been expanded from the 16-team format that was used from 2004 to 2015.
Under this new format, the finalists would contest a group stage consisting of six groups of four teams, followed by a knockout stage of 16 teams.
Two Asian Goliaths met on the field in the Semifinals of the 2019 AFC Asian Cup.
However, the match between Japan and Iran tilted one way more than the other, with the latter the heavy favorites to progress. However, the Samurai Blue put on a masterclass themselves to dump their opponents out of the competition.
Not many had expected Hajime Moriyasu to steer his side through to the 2019 AFC Asian Cup Final. The former Japan U-23 coach has proven to be the worthy candidate to lead the Samurai Blue.
Many had allotted the ‘favorites’ tag to Iran before the match even began. However, soon after the referee blew his whistle, it became clear that Japan were not to be taken for granted.
And so, just like that, the most ‘boring’ side in the tournament got the better of one of the most lethal ones by outscoring Iran, with 3-0. As a result, they will now face either Qatar or UAE for a chance to lift yet another title this Friday?
The tournament was won for the first time by Qatar, who defeated Japan 3–1 in the final. This was also Qatar’s first ever top 4 finish in the competition.
The defending champions (Australia), were eliminated by the hosts (UAE) at the quarter-finals, who subsequently lost to the eventual champions in the semi-finals.
AFC Asian Cup / Shoco Sports News 2019.
