Asian Cup 2023: Highlights of a tournament full of drama, late goals and underdog stories

Saturday will see the 2023 Asian Cup come to an end, with the final between Jordan and Qatar set to bring the curtain down on a month of captivating action.

There have been 128 goals scored, late goals galore and some of the most memorable moments in the competition's history since kickoff on January 12, and whichever way Saturday's final goes, there is sure to be another chapter written in the Asian Cup annals.

Jordan's route to the final has been nothing short of miraculous, upsetting all of the odds and defying all pre-tournament predictions, none of which even mentioned their name in the same breath as potential champions.

Already the lowest-ranked team to have reached the Asian Cup final, Hussein Ammouta's men are now only 90 minutes short of becoming the most unlikely champions the continent has ever seen and pulling off one of the all-time great shocks in football history.

They have already survived finishing third in their group to reach the knockout rounds as one of the highest-ranked third-placed teams, snatched victory from the jaws of defeat against Iraq in the last 16 with goals in the 95th and 97th minutes to turn a 2-1 loss into a 3-2 triumph, and then toppled South Korea - Son Heung-min and all - in the semi-finals.

Once again, they have been largely - and understandably - written off as major underdogs for the final, but having come this far and overcome every obstacle to date, they cannot be counted out now.

Qatar, meanwhile, entered the tournament as hosts and holders, having lifted the trophy for a first time in 2019, and will very much be the favourites for Saturday's final.

The 2022 World Cup hosts were not one of the most-fancied teams heading into the tournament, despite it being on home soil and them being in possession of the title, but they have looked solid throughout and boast the star man in Afif Akram.

They are now only one game away from becoming only the fifth nation - and the first in 20 years - to successfully retain the Asian Cup, teeing up a mouth-watering final at the Lusail Stadium.

Success stories

Jordan's dream run to the final is undoubtedly the story of the tournament so far, and had the Asian Cup been more easily viewable in certain parts of Europe, it would perhaps be getting the wider attention it warrants.

As it is, the Africa Cup of Nations has received much more television coverage in certain countries, causing the Asian Cup to go relatively under the radar in the West.

It is by no means going under the radar in Asia itself though, and those who have kept up with the tournament from further afield have been treated to some incredible drama.

Jordan's goals in the 95th and 97th minute of their last 16 match are only a small taste of the late, game-changing action; Iraq scored a winner in the 12th minute of added time in their final group game to seal a perfect record; Malaysia let a 2-1 lead over South Korea in the 82nd minute slip to fall 3-2 behind by the 94th minute, only to then score a famous equaliser in the 15th minute of injury time, rescuing a draw; South Korea themselves needed a 91st-minute own-goal winner to pinch a point against Jordan as well.

And that was only the group stage.

The main drama arrived in the knockout stages, with South Korea again the kings of the late show. Jurgen Klinsmann's side scored in the 99th minute to force extra time against Saudi Arabia in the last 16, going on to win on penalties, and then netted in the 96th minute to do the same against Australia in the quarter-finals, this time going through courtesy of an extra-time winner from the talismanic Son.

"It's been very, very good. It doesn't get the profile it might deserve in the West, but it's been a very good tournament," Asian football expert Dez Corkhill told Sports Mole.

"For the second time, it's been a 24-team tournament, and the beauty of that is that the teams who have gone home early - the likes of Indonesia and Hong Kong - they've gone home with their heads held up high, so even for those eliminated early it was successful.

"There were one or two whinges about India's performance but they never had the preparation, and Malaysia came into this tournament thinking they could do something big, and then ran up against Jordan in the first game and lost by four goals to nil. But then recovered to draw 3-3 with South Korea, so there's been a little bit of something for everybody.

"But the real stories of this tournament have come in the knockout phases, where there have been so many late goals and immense drama. Now we've got Qatar, looking to defend their title against the team nobody - just nobody - would have thought could have made it all the way, Jordan."

Favourites underperforming

While the underdogs have shone, the favourites have underperformed.

Japan came into the tournament as the highest-ranked team, with memories of beating Germany and Spain on their way to the last 16 of the World Cup on their last visit to Qatar, and having scored 45 goals in their 10 previous matches, including four-goal hauls against Germany, Turkey, Peru and Canada, and a 6-1 drubbing of finalists Jordan.

However, they only made it as far as the quarter-finals before being beaten by a 96th-minute Iran penalty.

Iran and South Korea were the next two highest-ranked teams and both made it to the semi-finals, but would have expected even more, especially coming up against Qatar and Jordan respectively at that stage.

"Yes, the big boys have underperformed. Korea were great to watch - they scored a 99th-minute equaliser to take the game to extra time against Saudi Arabia, they scored in the 95th minute with a penalty to do the same against Australia," Corkhill explained.

"Son Heung-min did his reputation the power of good here - he was the leading light for Korea, no-one worked harder than Son. His interviews after defeats or victories were a joy to behold - what a professional that man is. But he couldn't carry Korea over the line, and a lot of that is because the planning up top just didn't seem to be right.

"Coming into the tournament, Jurgen Klinsmann was under pressure from the Korean press, largely because it seems that he just doesn't rate Asian football. Klinsmann doesn't base himself in Korea, and perhaps thinks that the Korean league itself isn't strong enough to support a team to go all the way.

"It's very strange the Korea set-up - Klinsmann lives in America, works out of America, half the team is based in Europe, the other half are effectively Ulsan HD, who just qualified for the AFC Champions League.

"As for Japan, very interesting - they've been in such strong form coming into this tournament. They put four past Germany, four past Peru, four past Turkey, scoring goals galore. And then they came up short in two matches - Iraq bullied them, didn't let them play and took a deserved 2-1 win.

"Then in the quarter-finals Iran did very much the same, bullied them. Not physically, but they stood up to the challenge, were nice and tight in defence and were able to break out and then dominate the game, so the big boys never really got going.

"Australia, there were so many players from the lower leagues in England and the Scottish Premiership that there wasn't an awful lot of anticipation that they would go far - they probably went as far as was expected.

"Aussies being Aussies, there was still a lot of criticism for Graham Arnold and his team when they didn't get through. They went out in a close game against Korea - 'this' close to getting through to the next round - so the big boys did flatter to deceive, but all that did is open the door to Jordan and Qatar."

A bright future for Asian football?

The likes of Son Heung-min, Wataru Endo, Hwang Hee-Chan, Lee Kang-in, Sardar Azmoun and Mehdi Taremi were tipped to light up the tournament as some of the biggest success stories from Asian football in recent years, having earned moves to and forged careers at notable European clubs.

However, they will all be forced to watch the final from home, and one of the more surprising stats from Saturday's game is that there will only be one European-based player involved - Jordan's Musa Al-Taamari, who plays for Montpellier in France.

Qatar's squad is entirely home-based, while Jordan's giant-killers mostly play their domestic football in their own country too.

Asked whether their success at the tournament is a sign of Asian football getting stronger, Corkhill said: "So for Asian football you have to separate West Asia and East Asia - it's a very, very big part of the world.

"West Asian football is obviously Saudi Arabia coming in very, very strong. You're hearing all of the funding that's coming into the Saudi league and all of the superstars, but all of the Saudi players are more than holding their own, and these guys are getting a lot of match time in that Saudi league.

"The Stars League in Qatar is very, very strong. The Iranian league is great fun, the Persian Pro League is a really fun league to play in, so yes the leagues are getting stronger.

"The J-League, so many of the Korean and Japanese players get chances to play over in Europe, which actually was one of the problems - not so much for Japan, it was a bit of a surprise that they were bullied twice - so yeah, I think it is an indication that Asian domestic football is getting stronger and stronger.

"The proof will be in the World Cup, where Asian teams rarely get beyond the round of 16. They have, but they rarely get past the round of 16, but I think this bodes well for it - you've got to take Asian teams a lot more seriously than you used to."

Lessons for the future?

The reasons behind giving Qatar the World Cup in 2022 are still shrouded in controversy, and there are plenty of other off-field concerns which have been raised about their status as hosts too.

However, in terms of organisation, infrastructure and logistics, the tournament was widely seen as an overwhelming success, with fans and players not forced to travel hundreds of miles between games as they had been at past editions.