Asian Cup Fixtures and Tips
We are in for a whole month of AFC football as the Asian Cup 2024 is going to be played between 12. January and 10. February. Qatar will try to win back-to-back titles as they are coming in this tournament not only as hots but also as one of the main contenders. The competition will be spread across nine different stadiums, the majority of which were already used during the 2022 World Cup.
The final will take place at the Lusail Stadium, the same venue that hosted the World Cup final. The competition is not only going to attract the biggest nations from Asia but also its main stars. Expect to see Son Heung-min of Tottenham and Kaoru Mitoma of Brighton lighting the field in Qatar.
Those who seek prime AFC Asian Cup betting tips will be able to find some here, as the group stage of the competition is already stacked with interesting opportunities. Therefore, we will be able to witness matchups between Qatar and China or Iran vs UAE, already in the group stage.
Asian Cup Group Stage and Schedule
The 2024 Asian Cup will feature the same format as the previous one. This means that 24 teams will start the group stage for a chance to lift the AFC Asian Cup title. The two top teams from each group will qualify for the Round of 16 directly, with the four added teams advancing among the best third-placed teams.
| Group A | Group B | Group C |
| Qatar | Australia | Iran |
| China | Uzbekistan | UAE |
| Tajikistan | Syria | Hong Kong |
| Lebanon | India | Palestine |
| Group D | Group E | Group F |
| Japan | South Korea | Saudi Arabia |
| Indonesia | Malaysia | Thailand |
| Iraq | Jordan | Kyrgyzstan |
| Vietnam | Bahrain | Oman |
Qatar and China are the main contenders to advance from first place in Group A. On the other hand, Australia seems like a sure thing in Group B. Group C will see Iran and UAE fight for the first spot, while the situation is much clearer in Group D, where Japan is considered the main favourite.
In Group E, South Korea should come up on top as the favoured team. While in Group F Saudi Arabia is the strongest team and the one that is tipped to go through without any problems.
AFC Asian Cup Top Scorers
When making new AFC predictions, you can’t go without looking at the top scorers of the competition. This year, it is expected that Almoez Ali will be defending his top scorer crown that he won last tournament. However, he will have the most competition out of the biggest star of the tournament – Son Heung-min.
The South Korean attacker has never won the top scorer award in the AFC Asian Cup. Being that he is in top form and has already scored 11 goals for Tottenham this season puts him in a prime position to capture the top scorer title of the competition.
Here is a look back at some of the previous winners and their performances.
| Year | Top Scorer | Nation | No. Goals |
| 2019 | Almoez Ali | Qatar | 9 |
| 2015 | Ali Mabkhout | UAE | 5 |
| 2011 | Ja-Cheol Koo | South Korea | 5 |
| 2007 | Younis Mahmoud
Yasser Al-Qahtani
Naohiro Takahara | Iraq
Saudi Arabia
Japan | 4 |
| 2004 | Ali Karimi
Aala Hubail | Iran
Bahrain | 5 |
Asia Cup Potential Winners
Winning the AFC Asia Cup is a prestigious award for any nation in the region. The competition is fairly young compared to some other competitions that have been happening for much longer. Nevertheless, making AFC predictions can be challenging particularly if you are not completely acquainted with the entire situation of the tournament.
This year, the most obvious contenders to win the title are Japan. Samurai Blue are the winningest Asian nation with four titles. They reached the final of the 2019 iteration of the Asian Cup but lost for the first time. This is an excellent opportunity for them to get back on top of Asian football.
Qatar won their first-ever title in 2019 and are not both defending the title and hosting the tournament. This puts them in a prime position to win once again and become the first nation to win back-to-back titles since Japan in 2004.
Finally, South Korea comes to this tournament backed by probably the biggest Asian football star at the moment – Son Heung-min. Korea hasn’t won the title since 1960, and have since then lost four finals, the last one in 2015. The Taegeuk Warriors are poised to go far in this competition. But the question still remains whether they can go all the way.
AFC Asian Cup Past Winners
Japan are considered as the best footballing nation in Asia for a reason. They have won four AFC Asian Cup titles so far and have reached the final five in total. They are challenged only by Iran and Saudi Arabia, which have three each. South Korea does have two, but after winning the first two tournaments, they haven’t managed to get one since.
| Year | Winner | Runner-Up | Result |
| 2019 | Qatar | Japan | 3-1 |
| 2015 | Australia | South Korea | 2-1 (a.e.t.) |
| 2011 | Japan | Australia | 1-0 (a.e.t.) |
| 2007 | Iraq | Saudi Arabia | 1-0 |
| 2004 | Japan | China | 3-1 |
Asian Cup Stats and Betting Tips
To be able to get the most out of any AFC Asian Cup betting tips, you have to put in the work. This mainly includes studying the statistics of the tournament so you can get a better understanding of the trends. For instance, last year, both of the finalists reached the competition without losing a single game. Qatar eventually won, meaning that they have lifted the title in 7 out of 7.
Interestingly, on their way to their title-winning campaign, the Maroons have conceded only a single goal. Clinching six clean sheets in the process. Their striker, Almoez Ali, scored 9 goals, becoming the player with the most goals in a single Asian Cup tournament. He has to thank for most of those goals to Akram Afif, who supplied 10 assists during the tournament.
Qatar also scored the most goals in the 2019 tournament, 19 to be exact. They were followed by Japan and Iran, which scored 12 in total. On the other hand, Japan conceded three goals during the Group Stage but went on to record three games without conceding a goal until the final.
Iran went five games without conceding a goal and looked like tournament favourites. But unfortunately for them, they ran into Japan in the semi-finals and lost by 3-0.
Top Bookmakers for the Asian Cup
