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Akram Afif was named the AFC Asian Cup Qatar 2023 Most Valuable Player and also picked up the Yili Top Scorer Award on Saturday as his outstanding performances helped Qatar clinch the Continental title for the second consecutive time.
The striker, who netted a hattrick of penalties in the final, scored eight goals and made three assists in a campaign which saw him play a major part in the Maroons retaining the title they won in 2019, becoming one of only five teams to have managed such feat.
“I would like to thank all Qataris. Congratulations to the coach and the fans. I can’t really express what we feel but the coach worked really hard for us,” said Afif, who also scored from the penalty spot in the 2019 final against Japan, which Qatar won 3-1.
“However, I want to tell the fans that there is more to come from us. I also would like to thank my teammates for having confidence in me to take the penalties. That gave me a lot of confidence for all three penalties. I think we deserved the win tonight.”
The Al Sadd SC star, who also played a prominent role in Qatar’s triumphant campaign in 2019, opened his 2023 account by scoring twice in the 3-0 Group A win over Lebanon on Matchday One.
He then struck the winner in the 1-0 victory over Tajikistan, a result which confirmed Qatar’s knockout stage spot with a match to spare. Afif was on target again in the Round of 16, scoring the winner as Qatar saw off a spirited challenge from Palestine.
He was on top of his game yet again in the semifinal against Iran, scoring Qatar’s second with a thunderous effort as the hosts edged to a 3-2 victory.
The final saw yet another wonder show from Afif, who scored thrice from the penalty spot – the only player to net at hattrick at Qatar 2023 – to power the Maroons to their second AFC Asian Cup title.
In emulating teammate Almoez Ali in winning both the MVP and Top Scorer awards, Afif took his involvement to 22 AFC Asian Cup goals since the beginning of the last edition (9 goals and 13 assists), constituting 67 percent involvement in Qatar’s goals in the two tournaments.
Congratulations to #Qatar for defending their #AsianCup2023 title with a 3-1 victory against a courageous #Jordan!!!
Qatar needed three penalties to win the game, while Jordan had their moments especially at the start of the 2nd half.#AsianFootball
— Arunava Chaudhuri | arunfoot (@Arunfoot) February 10, 2024
