Doha, Qatar: Amir H H Sheikh Tamim bin Hamad Al Thani crowned hosts Qatar the AFC Asian Cup champions after they defeated Jordan 3-1 in the all-Arab final to retain their title last night.
Euphoric celebrations erupted at the Lusail Stadium as Al Annabi became only the fifth nation in history to win back-to-back crowns in the premier tournament.
Akram Afif was Qatar’s hero as he fired a hat-trick of penalties to take the title away from a spirited Jordanian side, playing their first major final.
The star forward converted a penalty in 22nd minute to give home side a lead, and struck two more goals from spot kicks in 73rd and 90+5 minutes after Jordan’s Yazan Al Naimat scored the equaliser in 67th minute.
Personal Representative of H H the Amir, H H Sheikh Jassim bin Hamad Al Thani; H H Sheikh Abdullah bin Khalifa Al Thani; H H Sheikh Mohammed bin Khalifa Al Thani; H E Sheikh Jassim bin Khalifa Al Thani; Prime Minister and Minister of Foreign Affairs, H E Sheikh Mohammed bin Abdulrahman bin Jassim Al Thani; Speaker of the Shura Council, H E Hassan bin Abdullah Al Ghanim; Minister of Sports and Youth H E Sheikh Hamad bin Khalifa bin Ahmed Al Thani; and a line-up of Their Excellencies Sheikhs and Ministers also attended the final at the iconic venue which was packed with 86,500 fans.
Just like their maiden title triumph in the United Arab Emirates five years ago, Qatar claimed seven consecutive victories in the tournament to secure back-to-back titles.
H H the Amir, FIFA President Gianni Infantino, the Crown Prince of the Hashemite Kingdom of Jordan H R H Prince Hussein bin Abdullah II and Asian Football Confederation (AFC) President Shaikh Salman bin Ibrahim Al Khalifa awarded the golden medals to the Qatar players and the silver medals to the players of Jordan.
In a post on the social media platform ‘X’, H H the Amir congratulated the national team on its historic victory and commended Jordan for their brilliant performance in the tournament.
Qatar squad celebrated the triumph with a victory parade that kicked off from the Lusail Stadium with thousands joining them in jubilation particularly at the Lusail Boulevard.
The home team’s triumph gave a fitting end to the month-long competition dubbed the greatest-ever Asian Cup edition that broke many records besides throwing many surprises in pulsating action.
Taking place at nine world class stadiums including seven venues that hosted the best-ever World Cup in 2022, the 24-nation tournament set a new record of crowd attendances across 51 matches as more than 1.5 million supporters showcased fervour for their teams.
The previous best was a total of 1.04m attendance.
The stadiums achieved an average of 73% capacity – a 13% increase from the best-ever showing set in China in 2004. The preliminary digital engagement and broadcast figures also reaffirmed the AFC Asian Cup Qatar 2023 as the most appealing edition in history, with digital impressions crossing the 5.5 billion mark and broadcast figures also poised to smash TV viewership records.
Shaikh Salman congratulated Qatar on retaining their crown and thanked the country for hosting the most successful men’s flagship edition in history. It was a record third time that Qatar staged the Asian Cup after the 1988 and 2011 editions.
“From the FIFA World Cup venues, the world-class infrastructure, the seamless connectivity, the absorbing atmosphere all across the city of Doha, and unrivalled hospitality from the people of Qatar, the AFC Asian Cup Qatar 2023 was unlike anything we have ever experienced or witnessed in the tournament’s proud history,” the AFC President said in a statement.
“On behalf of the Asian football family, I would like to convey a big heartfelt thank you to the Qatar Football Association, the Local Organising Committee and the Qatari authorities for their exceptional hosting capabilities and for delivering a tournament that will go down as the greatest ever Asian football masterpiece,” he added.
“Qatar is undoubtedly one of the elite sporting destinations across the globe. Prior to the tournament, as hosts of the FIFA World Cup, expectations of Qatar were indeed high and understandably so, but I know I speak for everyone when I say Qatar have not just met those expectations, but far exceeded all our aspirations.”
The premier Asian event also witnessed remarkable progress of teams with Palestine, Syria, Indonesia and Tajikistan advancing to the knockout stage for first time besides surprise packages Jordan, who reached their maiden final.
