What's next: AFC Asian Cup Qatar 2023™
The Subway Socceroos are returning to Qatar, the "home away from home", and the site of statistically Australia's most successful Men's World Cup ever, to feature in the AFC Asian Cup from 12 January to 10 February 2024.
Here is everything you need to know as the Subway Socceroos aim to add to their maiden AFC Asian Cup™ crown in 2015 on home soil when a goal in extra time of a thrilling Final helped lift the green and gold to victory over Korea Republic at a packed Stadium Australia in Sydney.
Who, what, when and where?
Graham Arnold's side have been drawn in Group B with India, Syria and Uzbekistan and will open their campaign against India at the same venue where they last played in Qatar - the Ahmad bin Ali Stadium, host of Australia's FIFA World Cup Qatar 2022™ Round of 16 clash with Argentina.
The Socceroos are also familiar with their other two venues, the Jassim bin Hamad Stadium and Abdullah bin Khalifa Stadium, having held training sessions at the pair of locations during previous camps in Qatar.
The tournament will staged across eight stadiums, six of which were venues for the FIFA World Cup Qatar 2022™, namely: Al Janoub Stadium, Al Bayt Stadium, Ahmed Bin Ali Stadium, Al Thumama Stadium, Education City Stadium, Khalifa International Stadium as well as the Jassim bin Hamad Stadium and Abdullah bin Khalifa Stadium.
The top two teams from each group and the four best third-placed teams from across the six groups will progress to the round of 16.
AFC Asian Cup Qatar 2023™ - Australia's Group B Matches
Australia v India
Date: Saturday, 13 January 2024
Venue: Ahmad bin Ali Stadium, Al Rayyan
Kick-off: 2:30pm local, 10:30pm (AEDT)
Syria v Australia
Date: Thursday, 18 January 2024
Venue: Jassim bin Hamad Stadium, Doha
Kick-off: 2:30pm local, 10:30pm (AEDT)
Australia v Uzbekistan
Date: Tuesday, 23 January 2024
Venue: Al Janoub Stadium, Al Wakrah
Kick-off: 2:30pm local, 10:30pm (AEDT)
A PDF version of the Match Schedule can be found HERE.
Tickets are available to purchase here
How to watch the AFC Asian Cup Qatar 2023™
All of the Subway Socceroos' AFC Asian Cup matches will be live and free across Network 10 while the entire tournament will be available to stream exclusively on Paramount+.
What did Graham Arnold say?
Being ready for our Group B opponents
We're going to have to do our homework straightaway on Uzbekistan, Syria and India. Again everything is about getting ourselves right. I think that we get our preparation and planning right, making sure the players are ready for it. Obviously, on the tactical side, we will be ready for all those three nations but you know, it's too early today to look further down the draw. All I'm focusing on is that group stage and making sure we do well in that group stage and win the group. And then when you win the group, it makes the next step a little bit easier, before you go into the quarter finals and that's important.
Learnings from the previous Asian Cup experience in 2019 to now
I look back and obviously what we could have done better and I've learned from it. I look at it in a totally different way today. I was only four months into the job. You know I had retirements of Timmy Cahill and Mile Jedinak and an ageing group. So I didn't really have as much knowledge as I have now about Asian Football at the time because as I said, I've been back in club coaching for eight or nine years. So all those type of things were new to me and no doubt I made mistakes.
But you know now is a completely different story. We've got more of a settled roster, more of a settled team. Been in the job now for five years. I've learned a lot about Asian Football. Obviously, what's going to be crucial is we get our preparation right, our planning right. As I said, I've been with these boys now for five years but we've got a very important six months ahead. You know with obviously the planning, the preparation, we've got friendly games. We've got World Cup qualifiers in November. So we've got a very busy program in front of us but you know, personally myself, I will go into this tournament with much more belief in myself as well that now knowing Asia much better than what I did. My expectations will be even higher.
Why is the 2023 edition being played in 2024?
China PR were appointed as hosts of the AFC Asian Cup 2023™ on June 5, 2019, at the AFC Extraordinary Congress in Paris. The 24-team competition was to be hosted across 10 Chinese cities from June 16 to July 16, 2023.
On 14 May 2022, the Asian Football Confederation (AFC) announced that exceptional circumstances caused by the COVID-19 pandemic led to the relinquishment by China PR of its hosting rights. At the 11th AFC Executive Committee meeting held on 17 October 2022, the AFC Executive Committee confirmed that Qatar Football Association (QFA) would be the new hosts.
READ MORE: China withdraws from hosting AFC Asian Cup 2023
READ MORE: Qatar confirmed as AFC Asian Cup 2023™ host
- Sign up and create a football account if you haven't already to stay up to date with all the news and information ahead of Asian football's showpiece tournament.
