Qatar beat Jordan 3-1 in the final of the 2023 Asian Football Confederation (AFC) Asian Cup at Lusail Stadium in Qatar on the 11th (Korea time), with Akram Afif scoring three goals on penalties alone.
With this, Qatar won the Asian Cup for the second consecutive time following the 2019 tournament in the United Arab Emirates. It is the fifth consecutive Asian Cup championship after Korea (1956 and 1960), Iran (1968, 1972, 1976), Saudi Arabia (1984 and 1988), and Japan (2000 and 2004).
Qatar advanced to the finals for the first time as the host country in the 2022 FIFA World Cup, and the quarterfinals were the best performances in the Asian Cup until the 2015 Australian Games.
However, it has emerged as an emerging soccer powerhouse in Asia as it has held the 2022 World Cup and the 2023 Asian Cup one after another and won the Asian Cup for the second consecutive time.
Jordan, which advanced to the semifinals for the first time and beat Korea 2-0 to advance to the final, had to be satisfied with its first ever runner-up. Qatar won 5 million dollars in prize money, and the runner-up Jordan 3 million dollars. South Korea and Iran, which failed to advance to the semifinals, will receive 1 million dollars in prize money. The next Asian Cup will be held in Saudi Arabia in 2027. It will be the third Asian Cup in a row.
Afif of Qatar scored three goals through penalty kicks in the final, and became the top scorer with eight goals in this tournament. Afif had five goals before the match, one behind Aymen Hussein of Iraq (six goals), but scored three goals in the final, beating Hussein by two goals.
Qatar became the top scorer for the second consecutive time after Almoez Ali, who scored nine goals at the 2014 World Cup. Afif also received the MVP award. The best goalkeeper award went to Meshal Varsham of Qatar, the younger brother of high jump star Mutaz Esa Bashim.