The most anticipated competition in Asia is scheduled to start on 7th January 2027, with the best nations from the continent contending for the title. The AFC Asian Cup is going to be held for the 19th time in history and will be hosted in Saudi Arabia. The previous hosts, Qatar, will be defending the title won in 2023, but will have to go through a slew of contenders if they want to retain it.
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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.
The 2027 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.
However, since the competition is so far away in time, the groups are not yet known to the public.
When making new AFC predictions, you can’t go without looking at the top scorers of the competition. Last time, we had
Here is a look back at some of the previous winners and their performances.
| Year | Top Scorer | Nation | No. Goals |
| 2023 | Akram Afif | Qatar | 8 |
| 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 |
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, as does Qatar, but after winning the first two tournaments, Koreans haven’t managed to get one since.
| Year | Winner | Runner-Up | Result |
| 2023 | Qatar | Jordan | 3-1 |
| 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 |
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, in 2023, both of the finalists reached the competition without losing a single game. Qatar eventually won, meaning that they have lifted the title with 7 victories out of 7 matches played.
Interestingly, on their way to that 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. Then, in 2023, these roles reversed, and it was Akram’s time to be the competition’s top scorer with 8 goals.
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.
