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Only four teams remain in the hunt for continental glory as the quarterfinal stage of the AFC Asian Cup Qatar 2023 came to an exciting conclusion on Saturday with all four last eight ties producing moments that will live on in the memories of Asian football fans for a very long time.
South Korea, eyeing their first title since 1960, face Jordan in the first semifinal on Tuesday while hosts Qatar meet Iran as they continue their title defence on Wednesday, but before that, AFC Media reviews the quarterfinals with a closer look at some of the key facts and stats that caught the eye.
Fairytale run continues
Jordan edged tournament debutants Tajikistan 1-0 at Ahmad bin Ali Stadium on Friday to reach their first-ever AFC Asian Cup semi final. Their best run comes in their fifth appearance in the competition with their previous best finish coming in the 2004 and 2011 editions where they reached the quarterfinals.
It also makes them the only side in the semifinals to have not won the competition before, with Qatar, South Korea and Iran accounting for six continental titles between them.
Iran finally better Japan
After five attempts, Iran finally posted a win against Japan in the AFC Asian Cup and in style as they defeated the four-time champions 2-1 with a last-gasp Alireza Jahanbakhsh penalty. Team Melli had drawn twice and lost twice in four previous meetings with the Samurai Blue, including a 3-0 defeat in the 2019 semifinals.
Japan had also previously not let in a single goal against the Iranians in the tournament but conceded twice from Mohammad Mohebi and Iran captain Jahanbakhsh on Saturday.
Barsham the hero for Qatar
Meshaal Barsham emerged as the hero for defending champions Qatar as the 25-year-old Al Sadd SC custodian made three saves in the penalty shootout – the most by a goalkeeper this tournament – to help the hosts move into the semifinals by overcoming Uzbekistan.
Saturday’s quarterfinal contest was also the first-ever shootout that Qatar took part in the AFC Asian Cup and they made it truly memorable as Barsham’s heroics kept the Maroons’ title defence alive in front of a large sea of supporters.
Taegeuk Warriors do it again
South Korea continued their trend of scoring in the second half injury time as Hwang Hee-chan’s 96th-minute penalty helped them take their quarterfinal tie against Australia into extra time where a stunning free-kick from captain Son Heung-min guided them to the semifinals.
This was the fourth consecutive time that the Taegeuk Warriors netted in the second half added time at this AFC Asian Cup after also doing so against Jordan and Malaysia in the group stage and Saudi Arabia in the last 16.
Tajiks exit with heads held high
Tajikistan’s dream run in the AFC Asian Cup came to an end following a narrow 1-0 defeat to Jordan in the last 16 tie on Friday, but it was a campaign that the tournament debutants can look back on with plenty of pride.
The Tajiks, coached by Croatian tactician Petar Segrt, did not concede more than a single goal in their first five AFC Asian Cup matches. Incidentally, the last team to achieve that feat was Jordan who did not concede more than once in their first seven games across two editions after their debut in 2004.
Lee leading the charge
After the conclusion of the quarterfinals of the 18th edition of the AFC Asian Cup, South Korea’s Lee Kang-in has created 17 chances and six big chances – more than any other player in the tournament. The Paris Saint-Germain attacking midfielder also has the most number of successful crosses in the tournament at 16 crosses.
Qatar’s Akram Afif, who has been involved in a tournament-leading six goals so far, is ranked second when it comes to creating chances (13) and successful crosses (13).
Solid shift from Pedro
Pedro Correia not only slotted home the decisive fifth penalty past Uzbek goalkeeper Utkir Yusupov in the shootout to send Qatar through to the last four but also made his presence felt all across the pitch winning more duels than any other player in the quarterfinal stage.
The 33-year-old defender, who was a key player in Qatar’s 2019 triumph, won 16 duels including all seven contested aerially. His teammate Almoez Ali and Uzbekistan’s Jaloliddin Masharipov were joint second by winning 15 duels.
Vintage Ryan
Australia’s Mathew Ryan made an impressive seven saves in their extra time defeat to South Korea. Six of the AZ Alkmaar goalkeeper’s saves were made from inside the box.
Korean shot-stopper Jo Hyeon-woo was second in the list making four stops with a save percentage of 80 while Barsham made three saves for holders Qatar against Uzbekistan.
