The first round of the 2023 Asian Cup in Qatar has been curtailed for the third time in history.
The first round of the Asian Championship began in its 18th edition last Friday, and continued until Tuesday, 16 January 2024.
The tour saw many exciting goals and events, as was customary in all previous versions of the continental tournament.
Prolific targeting
The first round saw 37 goals scored, and Japan vs Vietnam, which ended with a 4-2 “samurai” win, was the most exciting scoring.
10 matches ended with the victory of one of the rival parties, while only two games ended in a draw, with Syria and Uzbekistan, and China against Tajikistan, going scoreless.
📹 ملخص مباراة كوريا الجنوبية والبحرين (3-1) | كوريا الجنوبية تتجاوز البحرين في الجولة الأولى #كأس_آسيا | #كأس_آسيا2023 | #كوريا_الجنوبية_البحرين pic.twitter.com/0fWnPTDoAt
— beIN SPORTS (@beINSPORTS) January 15, 2024
🔚 نهاية المباراة
المنتخب الأردني يضرب بقوّة ويهزم المنتخب الماليزي برباعية نظيفة#كأس_آسيا2023 | #كأس_اسيا #ماليزيا_الأردن#AsianCup2023 | #Asiancup | #Qatar2023 pic.twitter.com/CH0Y6Ce2Ui
— beIN SPORTS (@beINSPORTS) January 15, 2024
8 were knocked out by clean sheets in the first round in Qatar, Australia, China, Tajikistan, Syria, Uzbekistan, Jordan and Thailand.
What is the number of colored cards?
The Asian Cup’s most famous first-round referee is 37 alarms, no yellow card match has been abandoned, and no red card has been made public on any occasion.
Iran vs Palestine, which ended with the first win 4-1 is the most yellow-card match with 7 alarms.
South Korea’s 3-1 victory over Bahrain also saw the same number of yellow cards.
4 penalties
Only 4 penalties were awarded in the first round, with two kicks for the UAE during the victory over Hong Kong 3-1.
⚽️🥅 سلطان عادل يفتتح التسجيل للأبيض الإماراتي من ركلة جزاء#كأس_آسيا | #كأس_آسيا2023 | #الإمارات_هونغ_كونغ#AsianCup2023 pic.twitter.com/fqIV2gEssp
— beIN SPORTS (@beINSPORTS) January 14, 2024
Moreover, a kick was awarded to the Jordanian team in the 4-0 win over Malaysia, the same as Oman during the 1-2 fall against Saudi Arabia.
Diameter Finish Jinx Opening
Qatar’s host team made a perfect start by triumphing over Lebanon, with a triple unanswered, last Friday evening.
Annabi finished with this victory, feeling the opening games in the major tournaments he had hosted before, where he had fallen 3 times.
Opening also against Uzbekistan with a score of 0-2.
At the opening of the 2022 World Cup, the host country team lost against Ecuador by 0-2, then bid farewell to the tournament without points following the 1-3 defeat by Senegal and the Netherlands 0-2.
Afif and Mu ‘izz make history
Akram Afif, the “Annabi” star, made history after scoring against Lebanon, becoming the first country player to contribute to scoring goals during 4 consecutive Asian Cup games (2 goals and 4 assists).
ملخص مباراة قطر ولبنان (3-0) | منتخب قطر يستهل حملة الدفاع عن لقبه بنجاح#قطر_لبنان | #كأس_آسيا | #كأس_آسيا2023#AsianCup2023 | #Qatar2023 pic.twitter.com/yeDvjnbXvu
— beIN SPORTS (@beINSPORTS) January 12, 2024
Qatar striker Mu ‘iz Ali became the second Asian Cup scorer in history to equal South Korea’s Li Dong Guk with 10 goals each.
Iranian top scorer Ali Daei is in the Asian Championship with 14 goals throughout history, leaving Al-Mu ‘iz Ali with only 4 goals to match him.
Qatari star Ali Mbakhbot, the UAE’s nine-goal striker, finishes as the Arab top scorer in the Asian Championship to date.
Target No. 1000
The Hong Kuna-UAE match, which ended with the latter winning 3-1, saw the 1000th goal in the tournament’s history.
Hong Kong’s only goal, signed by Chan Siu Quan, has been the 1000th in the history of the Asian Cup since its inception in 1956.
Saudi Arabia vs Oman creates event
Saudi Arabia vs Oman made the event with many outstanding and exciting numbers, with “Green” becoming the first Arab team to defeat Oman in the Asian Cup in history.
The match also saw Oman succeed in scoring the first penalty goal in the history of their participation in the tournament.
المنتخب السعودي يقتنص فوزاً في الوقت القاتل من عُمان
⏯️ شاهد ملخص مباراة السعودية وعُمان 👇#كأس_آسيا2023 | #كأس_اسيا | #السعوديه_عمان #AsianCup2023 | #Asiancup | #Qatar2023 pic.twitter.com/c4Iz5iWTbN
— beIN SPORTS (@beINSPORTS) January 16, 2024
Lakhdar conceded the first penalty goal in its history with the Asian Cup, since it was conceded in the same way against Bahrain in 1988 in the group stage.