The 2023 AFC Asian Cup is fully underway. Nearly every participating country has played its first two group-stage matches, and there have already been some surprising results.
The tournament takes place every four years from early January to early February between the countries in the Asian Football Federation. The 2019 AFC Asian Cup was hosted by United Arab Emirates. Qatar won the 2019 cup, beating Japan in the final.
The 2023 tournament, which is happening in 2024, is being hosted in Qatar.
Japan headed into the Asian Cup as favorites but on Friday they were defeated in their second group stage game by Iraq. The upset was applauded by fans of the Iraqi national team.
The final group stage matches will take place over the next few days, but a few teams are already out of contention: India, Malaysia, Hong Kong and Vietnam.
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