2023 AFC Asian Cup Group C

Group C of the 2023 AFC Asian Cup took place from 14 to 23 January 2024.[1] The group consisted of Iran, United Arab Emirates, Hong Kong and Palestine.[2] The top two teams, Iran and the United Arab Emirates, along with third-placed Palestine (as one of the four best third-placed teams), advanced to the round of 16.

Teams

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Draw position Team Zone Method of
qualification
Date of
qualification
Finals
appearance
Last
appearance
Previous best
performance
FIFA Rankings
April 2023[nb 1] December 2023
C1   Iran CAFA Second round Group C winners 15 June 2021 15th 2019 Winners (1968, 1972, 1976) 24 21
C2   United Arab Emirates WAFF Second round Group G winners 15 June 2021 11th 2019 Runners-up (1996) 72 64
C3   Hong Kong EAFF Third round Group D runners-up 14 June 2022 4th 1968 Third place (1956) 147 150
C4   Palestine WAFF Third round Group B winners 14 June 2022 3rd 2019 Group stage (2015, 2019) 93 99

Notes

  1. ^ The rankings of April 2023 were used for seeding for the final draw.

Standings

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Pos Team Pld W D L GF GA GD Pts Qualification
1   Iran 3 3 0 0 7 2 +5 9 Advance to knockout stage
2   United Arab Emirates 3 1 1 1 5 4 +1 4
3   Palestine 3 1 1 1 5 5 0 4
4   Hong Kong 3 0 0 3 1 7 −6 0
Source: AFC
Rules for classification: Group stage tiebreakers

Matches

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United Arab Emirates vs Hong Kong

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This was the first time the sides met in the group stage of an Asian Cup. They had previously met three times in the past, with a draw in 2000 and two 4–0 wins for the Emiratis as part of 2015 AFC Asian Cup qualification.

In the 30th minute, Sultan Adil shot his ball to the hand of Hong Kong defender Oliver Gerbig, with the referee deciding to give a penalty after consulting VAR due to Gerbig's hand movement being deemed abnormal. Adil then converted the penalty himself to give the Emiratis the lead. Early in the second half, Everton Camargo delivered a brilliant pass from the right flank to Chan Siu Kwan, who then equalised with what was Hong Kong's first goal since Li Kwok Keung on 15 May 1968, and the 1,000th goal in Asian Cup history. However, Zayed Sultan soon reclaimed the lead for the Emiratis after two earlier shots from Abdullah Ramadan and Adil were denied by keeper Yapp Hung Fai, when Sultan was quick to seize the opportunity over the ball's deflection to his position. In the first minute of second-half stoppage time, Yahya Al-Ghassani was deemed to have been fouled by Shinichi Chan while dribbling in Hong Kong's penalty area after another VAR consultation, going on to become a controversial penalty decision, during which Al-Ghassani would again successfully convert in the sixth minute of added time. Minutes later, Michael Udebuluzor scored a second goal for Hong Kong which was ruled out by VAR again, as the United Arab Emirates triumphed 3–1.

United Arab Emirates  3–1  Hong Kong
Report
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
United Arab Emirates
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
Hong Kong
GK 17 Khalid Eisa (c)
RB 3 Zayed Sultan   88'
CB 12 Khalifa Al Hammadi
CB 26 Bader Nasser
LB 2 Abdulla Idrees   23'
CM 8 Tahnoon Al-Zaabi   68'
CM 15 Yahia Nader   81'
CM 18 Abdullah Ramadan   88'
RF 11 Caio Canedo
CF 23 Sultan Adil
LF 10 Fábio Lima   68'
Substitutions:
MF 14 Abdulla Hamad   68'
FW 20 Yahya Al-Ghassani   68'
MF 5 Ali Salmeen   81'
DF 24 Ahmed Jamil   88'
DF 4 Khalid Al-Hashemi   88'
Manager:
  Paulo Bento
GK 1 Yapp Hung Fai (c)
RB 21 Yue Tze Nam   27'   67'
CB 3 Oliver Gerbig   33'
CB 13 Li Ngai Hoi   90+1'
LB 17 Shinichi Chan
CM 6 Wu Chun Ming
CM 8 Tan Chun Lok   90+1'
CM 16 Chan Siu Kwan   78'
RF 11 Everton Camargo
CF 9 Matt Orr
LF 14 Poon Pui Hin   66'
Substitutions:
FW 25 Stefan Pereira   66'
FW 20 Michael Udebuluzor   67'
MF 10 Wong Wai   78'
DF 4 Vas Nuñez   90+1'
MF 22 Yu Joy Yin   90+1'
Manager:
  Jørn Andersen

Man of the Match:
Yahya Al-Ghassani (United Arab Emirates)

Assistant referees:
Ronnie Goh Min Kiat (Singapore)
Abdul Hannan Bin Abdul Hasim (Singapore)
Fourth official:
Ahmad Al-Ali (Kuwait)
Reserve assistant referee:
Abdulhadi Al-Enezi (Kuwait)
Video assistant referee:
Sivakorn Pu-udom (Thailand)
Assistant video assistant referees:
Kate Jacewicz (Australia)

Iran vs Palestine

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The sides had faced each other six times prior, with Iran undefeated in all matches; their most recent meeting was a friendly in 2018, which ended with a 1–1 draw.

Iran got off to a dream start after a fast attack saw Mehdi Ghayedi seize the opportunity from a throw-in, passing to Saman Ghoddos who sent the ball to Karim Ansarifard, putting Iran in front after just two minutes. Iran doubled their lead ten minutes later after Ghoddos delivered a set-piece which Shojae Khalilzadeh quickly got on the end of to strike the ball into the net. In the 38th minute, a failed clearance from Palestine's Mohammed Rashid was intercepted by Ansarifard, who then passed to Alireza Jahanbakhsh and then Ghayedi, striking a low shot to give Iran a three-goal lead. In the sixth minute of first half stoppage time, a clever set-piece from Palestine's Zaid Qunbar caught Iranian defender Saeid Ezatolahi by surprise, as he headed the ball directly to his opponent Tamer Seyam, whose subsequent converted header was thus onside and reduced Iran's lead back to a two-goal margin. Iran then buried any Palestinian hope of a comeback in the 55th minute when Sadegh Moharrami, receiving the ball from Majid Hosseini, delivered a decisive pass for Sardar Azmoun, who then struck the net after clumsy attempts by the Palestinians to clear the ball.

Iran  4–1  Palestine
Report
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
Iran
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
Palestine
GK 1 Alireza Beiranvand
RB 2 Sadegh Moharrami   81'
CB 13 Hossein Kanaanizadegan   17'
CB 4 Shojae Khalilzadeh   44'
LB 3 Ehsan Hajsafi (c)
CM 14 Saman Ghoddos   90'
CM 6 Saeid Ezatolahi
RW 7 Alireza Jahanbakhsh
AM 9 Mehdi Taremi
LW 18 Mehdi Ghayedi   46'
CF 10 Karim Ansarifard   46'
Substitutions:
DF 19 Majid Hosseini   44'
FW 20 Sardar Azmoun   46'
MF 21 Mohammad Mohebi   46'
DF 23 Ramin Rezaeian   81'
MF 8 Omid Ebrahimi   90'
Manager:
Amir Ghalenoei
GK 22 Rami Hamadeh
RB 7 Musab Al-Battat (c)
CB 15 Michel Termanini   10'
CB 4 Yaser Hamed   46'
LB 12 Camilo Saldaña   40'   46'
RM 9 Tamer Seyam   42'   84'
CM 6 Oday Kharoub
CM 3 Mohammed Rashid
LM 10 Mahmoud Abu Warda
CF 20 Zaid Qunbar   51'   65'
CF 13 Shehab Qunbar   65'
Substitutions:
DF 2 Mohammed Khalil   80'   46'
DF 5 Mohammed Saleh   90+5'   46'
FW 8 Hassan Alaa Aldeen   65'
FW 11 Oday Dabbagh   65'
MF 14 Samer Zubaida   84'
Manager:
  Makram Daboub

Man of the Match:
Saman Ghoddos (Iran)

Assistant referees:
Taleb Al-Marri (Qatar)
Saoud Al-Maqaleh (Qatar)
Fourth official:
Hanna Hattab (Syria)
Reserve assistant referee:
Ali Ahmad (Syria)
Video assistant referee:
Abdulla Al-Marri (Qatar)
Assistant video assistant referees:
Khamis Al-Marri (Qatar)

Palestine vs United Arab Emirates

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This was the sides' first meeting since 2016, when the two faced as part of 2018 FIFA World Cup qualification, with the United Arab Emirates winning 2–0 at home.

The UAE had the better start, and in the 23rd minute, from a contested ball in the midfield won by Ali Saleh, he provided a perfect cross for Sultan Adil, who then headed into the Palestinian net to give the Emiratis the lead. However, the match changed direction significantly after a pulling foul in the area from Emirati defender Khalifa Al Hammadi on Oday Dabbagh in the 34th minute, which resulted in Al Hammadi's dismissal after VAR intervention; despite this, Tamer Seyam failed to convert from the resulting penalty with goalkeeper Khalid Eisa keeping his effort out. Nonetheless, Palestine's persistent pressure paid off in the 50th minute when, from a long-range delivery, Seyam redeemed himself with a tricky cross into the penalty area, which Bader Nasser's header turned into an own goal to level the match. In spite of this goal and persistent continued Palestinian pressure, the United Arab Emirates held firm as the contest ended in a draw, denying the Palestinians a first-ever win at the Asian Cup.

Palestine  1–1  United Arab Emirates
Nasser   50' (o.g.) Report Adil   23'
Attendance: 41,986
Referee: Ahmad Al-Ali (Kuwait)
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
Palestine
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
United Arab Emirates
GK 22 Rami Hamadeh
RB 7 Musab Al-Battat (c)
CB 15 Michel Termanini
CB 5 Mohammed Saleh
LB 12 Camilo Saldaña   90'
RM 9 Tamer Seyam
CM 6 Oday Kharoub   90'
CM 3 Mohammed Rashid   63'
LM 10 Mahmoud Abu Warda   80'
CF 20 Zaid Qunbar   80'
CF 11 Oday Dabbagh
Substitutions:
MF 23 Ataa Jaber   90+9'   63'
FW 13 Shehab Qunbar   80'
MF 21 Islam Batran   80'
MF 14 Samer Zubaida   90'
DF 25 Samer Jundi   90'
Manager:
  Makram Daboub
GK 17 Khalid Eisa (c)
RB 19 Khaled Ibrahim   65'
CB 12 Khalifa Al Hammadi   37'
CB 26 Bader Nasser
LB 2 Abdulla Idrees
CM 6 Majid Rashid
CM 18 Abdullah Ramadan   65'
RW 11 Caio Canedo   55'
AM 9 Ali Saleh   66'
LW 10 Fábio Lima   40'
CF 23 Sultan Adil   16'
Substitutions:
DF 4 Khalid Al-Hashemi   40'
FW 20 Yahya Al-Ghassani   55'
DF 3 Zayed Sultan   65'
MF 5 Ali Salmeen   65'
MF 21 Harib Abdalla   66'
Manager:
  Paulo Bento   45+1'   90+9'

Man of the Match:
Khalid Eisa (United Arab Emirates)

Assistant referees:
Abdulhadi Al-Anezi (Kuwait)
Ahmad Abbas (Kuwait)
Fourth official:
Ahmed Al-Kaf (Oman)
Reserve assistant referee:
Abu Bakar Al-Amri (Oman)
Video assistant referee:
Abdulrahman Al-Jassim (Qatar)
Assistant video assistant referees:
Abdullah Jamali (Kuwait)

Hong Kong vs Iran

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This was the sides' first meeting in an Asian Cup since 1968. Iran had previously faced Hong Kong seven times, all competitive fixtures, with Hong Kong recording one win and Iran six, including their most recent encounter as part of 2026 FIFA World Cup qualification, which Iran won 4–0.

Hong Kong surprised Iran with some long-range efforts and duels won over Iranian players, particularly when a poor attempt to kick the ball away by the Iranians ended up hitting Everton Camargo as he put his shot wide. In the 24th minute, however, Mehdi Taremi would provide a clinical pass for Mehdi Ghayedi from a breakthrough the defence, before Ghayedi finished in the bottom left of Hong Kong's net to score Iran's only goal, and also the only goal of the match to secure Iran's win.

Hong Kong  0–1  Iran
Report
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
Hong Kong
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
Iran
GK 1 Yapp Hung Fai (c)
RB 21 Yue Tze Nam
CB 3 Oliver Gerbig
CB 4 Vas Nuñez   47'
LB 17 Shinichi Chan   90'
CM 6 Wu Chun Ming   37'   90'
CM 8 Tan Chun Lok
RW 11 Everton Camargo
AM 16 Chan Siu Kwan   73'
LW 23 Sun Ming Him   73'
CF 9 Matt Orr   73'
Substitutions:
MF 10 Wong Wai   73'
FW 20 Michael Udebuluzor   73'
FW 25 Stefan Pereira   73'
MF 15 Chang Hei Yin   90'
FW 14 Poon Pui Hin   90'
Manager:
  Jørn Andersen
GK 1 Alireza Beiranvand
RB 23 Ramin Rezaeian
CB 13 Hossein Kanaanizadegan
CB 19 Majid Hosseini   65'
LB 5 Milad Mohammadi
CM 14 Saman Ghoddos
CM 15 Rouzbeh Cheshmi
RW 7 Alireza Jahanbakhsh (c)   81'
AM 9 Mehdi Taremi   77'
LW 18 Mehdi Ghayedi   65'
CF 26 Shahriyar Moghanlou   65'
Substitutions:
MF 6 Saeid Ezatolahi   65'
FW 10 Karim Ansarifard   65'
MF 21 Mohammad Mohebi   65'
MF 8 Omid Ebrahimi   77'
DF 3 Ehsan Hajsafi   81'
Manager:
Amir Ghalenoei

Man of the Match:
Milad Mohammadi (Iran)

Assistant referees:
Ali Ahmad (Syria)
Mohamad Kazzaz (Syria)
Fourth official:
Ko Hyung-jin (South Korea)
Reserve assistant referee:
Park Sang-jun (South Korea)
Video assistant referee:
Hiroyuki Kimura (Japan)
Assistant video assistant referees:
Kate Jacewicz (Australia)

Iran vs United Arab Emirates

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This was the sides' first meeting in the Asian Cup since 2015, which Iran won 1–0. Iran also won by the same scoreline when the sides met during 2022 FIFA World Cup qualification, both home and away.

Iran quickly proved their dominance in the match, and it paid off in the 26th minute when a clinical one-touch play from Sardar Azmoun met Mehdi Taremi in the right position, as he overcame two remaining Emirati defenders to open the scoring, before Ali Gholizadeh had another header in the 36th minute ruled out for offside. Iran's rampant pressure consistently pushed the Emiratis to the brink, but as Iran poured everything into a second goal, an Emirati counterattack saw Yahya Al-Ghassani sneak into the Iranian penalty area before being fouled by Hossein Kanaanizadegan, which resulted in a yellow card for Kanaani and a penalty for the UAE. However, Al-Ghassani then squandered the 63rd minute spot kick, and his team was made to pay the price two minutes later, when a misjudged pass by Khalid Ibrahim was intercepted by Azmoun, whose backheel pass for Taremi allowed the latter to strike Iran's second goal. Iran had two more goals ruled out by VAR, first for an offside from Azmoun and then a second from Mohammad Mohebi due to his earlier foul on Emirati midfielder Majid Rashid. As the match drew to a close, in the third minute of stoppage time, Al-Ghassani redeemed himself when he got on the end of a rebound from Abdullah Ramadan's long-ranged shot, which he was able to head home; while it did not alter the match's outcome, Al-Ghassani's goal secured the Emiratis second place and progression from the group.

Iran  2–1  United Arab Emirates
Report
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
Iran
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
United Arab Emirates
GK 1 Alireza Beiranvand
RB 2 Sadegh Moharrami   41'   45'
CB 13 Hossein Kanaanizadegan   62'
CB 4 Shojae Khalilzadeh
LB 3 Ehsan Hajsafi (c)
CM 6 Saeid Ezatolahi
CM 14 Saman Ghoddos   67'
RW 17 Ali Gholizadeh   67'
AM 9 Mehdi Taremi
LW 18 Mehdi Ghayedi   67'
CF 20 Sardar Azmoun   87'
Substitutions:
DF 23 Ramin Rezaeian   45'
MF 8 Omid Ebrahimi   67'
MF 21 Mohammad Mohebi   67'
MF 7 Alireza Jahanbakhsh   67'
FW 11 Reza Asadi   87'
Manager:
Amir Ghalenoei
GK 17 Khalid Eisa (c)
RB 19 Khalid Ibrahim   72'   74'
CB 4 Khalid Al-Hashemi
CB 26 Bader Nasser
LB 3 Zayed Sultan
CM 6 Majid Rashid   85'
CM 18 Abdullah Ramadan
RW 21 Harib Abdalla
AM 8 Tahnoon Al-Zaabi   54'   57'
LW 20 Yahya Al-Ghassani
CF 9 Ali Saleh   85'
Substitutions:
FW 11 Caio   57'
DF 2 Abdulla Idrees   74'
MF 14 Abdulla Hamad   85'
FW 10 Fábio Lima   85'
Manager:
  Sérgio Costa[note 1]

Man of the Match:
Mehdi Taremi (Iran)

Assistant referees:
Andrey Tsapenko (Uzbekistan)
Timur Gaynullin (Uzbekistan)
Fourth official:
Adham Makhadmeh (Jordan)
Reserve assistant referee:
Ahmad Al-Roalle (Jordan)
Video assistant referee:
Mohammed Al Hoish (Saudi Arabia)
Assistant video assistant referees:
Abdullah Jamali (Kuwait)

Hong Kong vs Palestine

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This marked the sides' first meeting in 23 years, a 2002 FIFA World Cup qualification fixture won 1–0 by Palestine.

The Palestinians got off to a dream start when, after opening the match aggressively, Musab Al-Battat received a pass before sneaking into Hong Kong's left flank, providing a clinical aerial delivery to Oday Dabbagh, whose header hit the ground and then went into the net to open the score in the 12th minute. Al-Battat then repeated the same trick in the 48th minute, when his clinical delivery reached Zaid Qunbar, who capitalised with another header for the second Palestine goal. In the 60th minute, from a failed attempt to score from Hong Kong, the Palestinians provided a quick counterattack, with Tamer Seyam striking the crossbar before the ball rebounded to Dabbagh once again, who didn't miss the opportunity to score his side's third goal. Hong Kong had a final chance to get on the scoresheet at the fourth minute of second-half stoppage time, when Al-Battat let his hand touch the ball from an effort by Everton Camargo, but Camargo himself then failed to convert the penalty which ensured the final scoreline.

This was Palestine's first-ever victory in Asian Cup history, and with four points, they managed to advance past the group stage for the first time ever.

Hong Kong  0–3  Palestine
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Hong Kong
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
Palestine
GK 19 Tse Ka Wing
RB 21 Yue Tze Nam
CB 4 Vas Nuñez (c)   28'
CB 3 Oliver Gerbig
LB 17 Shinichi Chan   70'
CM 6 Wu Chun Ming   56'
CM 8 Tan Chun Lok   76'
RW 11 Everton Camargo
AM 16 Chan Siu Kwan   56'
LW 20 Michael Udebuluzor   70'
CF 9 Matt Orr   86'
Substitutions:
DF 13 Li Ngai Hoi   28'
MF 10 Wong Wai   56'
FW 26 Juninho   56'
FW 25 Stefan Pereira   70'
DF 23 Sun Ming Him   70'
Manager:
  Jørn Andersen
GK 22 Rami Hamadeh
RB 7 Musab Al-Battat (c)
CB 15 Michel Termanini
CB 5 Mohammed Saleh
LB 2 Mohammed Khalil
RM 9 Tamer Seyam   82'
CM 6 Oday Kharoub
CM 18 Amid Mahajna   82'
LM 10 Mahmoud Abu Warda   69'
CF 20 Zaid Qunbar   69'
CF 11 Oday Dabbagh   85'
Substitutions:
MF 3 Mohammed Rashid   69'
FW 8 Hassan Alaa Aldeen   69'
MF 21 Islam Batran   82'
MF 14 Samer Zubaida   82'
FW 19 Mahmoud Wadi   85'
Manager:
  Makram Daboub

Man of the Match:
Musab Al-Battat (Palestine)

Assistant referees:
Anton Shchetinin (Australia)
Ashley Beecham (Australia)
Fourth official:
Abdulrahman Al-Jassim (Qatar)
Reserve assistant referee:
Taleb Al-Marri (Qatar)
Video assistant referee:
Abdulla Al-Marri (Qatar)
Assistant video assistant referees:
Ko Hyung-jin (South Korea)

Discipline

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Fair play points would have been used as tiebreakers if the overall and head-to-head records of teams were tied. These were calculated based on yellow and red cards received in all group matches as follows:

  • first yellow card: −1 point;
  • indirect red card (second yellow card): −3 points;
  • direct red card: −3 points;
  • yellow card and direct red card: −4 points;

Only one of the above deductions was applied to a player in a single match.

Team Match 1 Match 2 Match 3 Points
                                   
  Iran 1 2 –3
  Hong Kong 2 2 2 –6
  Palestine 6 1 –7
  United Arab Emirates 1 1 1 2 –7

Notes

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  1. ^ United Arab Emirates manager Paulo Bento was suspended for the match due to his sending off in United Arab Emirates's match against Palestine. Assistant manager Sérgio Costa filled in as manager.

References

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  1. ^ ""Match Schedule – AFC Asian Cup Qatar 2023"" (PDF). Asian Football Confederation. 11 May 2023. Retrieved 13 May 2023.
  2. ^ "#AsianCup2023 Groups Finalised". Asian Football Confederation. Retrieved 11 May 2023.
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