jordan pulse -
The Asian Football Cup begins in Qatar on Friday, which is hosting the competition for the third time in its history, while its national team aspires to retain the title in an effort to reconcile its fans after a disappointing first participation in the World Cup.
At Lusail Stadium, which hosted the 2022 World Cup final between Argentina and France, which ended with the former being crowned champions led by its star Lionel Messi, the Qatar national team, just over a year after the first World Cup in an Arab country, will receive its Lebanese counterpart in a stadium that can accommodate about 90,000 spectators.
In the 18th edition of the 2023 Asian Cup, which began in 1956, 24 teams will participate for the second time after the previous edition, which was held in the Emirates in 2019 and was later crowned by Qatar.
Ironically, Qatar defeated Lebanon 2-0 at the beginning of its journey towards its first continental title in 2019.
But after the worst participation of a host team in the World Cup (3 defeats and one goal) led by coach Felix Sanchez, Qatar returned to using the Spanish school in training after appointing the technical director. Marquez Lopez succeeded Portuguese Carlos Queiroz a little more than a month before the opening of the tournament.
The Qataris' quest to retain the title in their country will clash with the Japanese team, the strong candidate to win the tournament and enhance its record (currently 4 titles), while strong South Korea is also seeking to win a continental title that has been long-awaited for 64 years.
Attention is focused on the Saudi national team, which is coached by Italian Roberto Mancini, after the influx of foreign stars with expensive deals to local league clubs led by Portuguese star Cristiano Ronaldo.
Saudi Arabia appears to be the only candidate to host the 2034 World Cup, as part of a broader campaign to invest in global sports.
The Palestinian team faces a difficult task to emerge from a group that includes Iran, the Emirates, and Hong Kong, with its players focusing on the Israeli war on Gaza after some players lost their relatives.
Tunisian Makram Daboub, coach of the Palestine national team, said, “Everyone follows the news, before and after training, whether it is on the bus or in the hotel.”
The teams, including 10 Arab teams participating in the competition held every 4 years, were divided into 6 groups, and the tournament will witness up to 3 matches per day during the group stage. The top two teams in each group will qualify for the second round (round of 16), in addition to the four best third-placed teams.
Qatar will be the first host of the finals three times after 1988 and 2011, and it will be held until next February 10 in 9 modern stadiums, including 7 that hosted the 2022 World Cup matches.
It was decided to change the date of the tournament, from mid-2023, until the beginning of 2024, to avoid the summer heat in the Gulf.
In 2019, China won the right to host the tournament, but in May 2022 it apologized due to its policies to combat the spread of the Corona virus.
With Qatar hosting the 2022 FIFA World Cup, this will be the first Asian Cup tournament in which tournament matches will be played in World Cup stadiums. Also, 13 teams in the 2023 Asian Cup participated in the 2011 edition, which was held specifically in Qatar.