The 18th edition of Asia’s flagship men’s football competition kicks off in Qatar on Friday, luring prominent names from across the region. The tournament is set to be the biggest yet after being expanded to a record 24 teams.
Initially scheduled to take place in China last summer, the 2023 Asian Cup had to find a new host due to COVID restrictions in the country. But the summer heat and the Gulf state’s involvement in the Concacaf Gold Cup meant the tournament had to be pushed further.
The latest edition of the competition is set to begin on January 12 as the hosting nation for a record third time, defending champions Qatar takes on Lebanon at 7:30 pm, Qatar time. The two teams have previously only met once in the tournament’s history.
The 68,895-capacity Al Bayt Stadium is set to host a historic opener. The first clash of the competition is going to be Qatar’s 40th match in tournament history, and Lebanon is set to play in an opening match of the tournament for the first time.
The 2023 Asian Cup is expected to culminate in the Final on February 10 at the Al Bayt Stadium. The two finalists shall battle for Continental glory at 6 pm. As the teams begin to arrive, here is the list of GCC squads competing this year, as per The National.
Squads announced ahead of AFC Asian Cup Qatar 2023 kick-off
Qatar (Group A)
Goalkeepers: Saad Al Sheeb, Meshal Barsham, Salah Zakaria
Defenders: Al Mahdi Ali, Lucas Mendes, Boualem Khokhi, Pedro Miguel, Tarek Salman, Sultan Al Beraik, Homam Al Amin, Bassam Al-Rawi
Midfielders: Ahmed Fathi, Jassim Gaber, Abdelaziz Hatem, Hassan Al Haydos, Ali Asad, Mohammed Waad, Mustafa Meshal, Khaled Mohammed
Forwards: Ahmed Al Janhi, Ahmed Alaa, Akram Afif, Yousif Abdurazaq, Al Moez Ali, Ismail Mohammed, Khalid Muneer
UAE (Group C)
Goalkeepers: Ali Khasif, Khalid Eisa, Khaled Tawhid
Defenders: Abdullah Idrees, Hashemi Hussain, Khalifa Al Hammadi, Mohamad Al-Attas, Khaled Ebraheim Al Dhanhani, Ahmed Abdulla, Abdelrahman Saleh, Bader Abaelaziz
Midfielders: Zayed Sultan, Ali Salmeen, Majid Rashid, Tahnoon Al-Zaabi, Abdulla Hamad, Yahia Nader, Mohamed Abbas, Abdalla Ramadan, Harib Abdalla Al-Maazmi
Forwards: Ali Mabkhout, Ali Saleh, Fabio Lima, Caio, Yahya Al Ghassani, Sultan Adill Alamiri
Bahrain (Group E)
Goalkeepers: Sayed Mohamed Jaafar, Abdulkarim Fardan, Ebrahim Lutfalla
Defenders: Amine Benaddi, Waleed Al-Hayam, Sayed Mahdy Baqer, Mohammed Abdul Qayoom, Ahmed Bughammar, Mohammed Adel, Abdulla Al Khalasi, Husain Al Eker
Midfielders: Mohamed Abdulwahab, Mohamed Hardan, Mohamed Marhoon, Kamil Al-Aswad, Ibrahim Al Khatal, Moses Jona, Jassim Al-Shaikh, Jasim Al-Salama, Ibrahim Al Wali
Forwards: Ali Jaafar Madan, Abdullah Yusuf Hilal, Ali Hasan Saeed Isa, Abdullah Duaij, Hazaa Ali, Mahdi Al-Humaidan
Saudi Arabia (Group F)
Goalkeepers: Nawaf Al Aqidi, Raghed Najjar, and Ahmed Al Kassar
Defenders: Hassan Kadish, Aoun Al Saluli, Ali Al-Bulaihi, Ali Lagami, Hassan Al-Tambakti, Saud Abdul Hamid, Fawaz Al Saqour, and Abdullah Al Khaybari
Midfielders: AbdulIlah Al Maliki, Mukhtar Ali, Faisal Al Ghamdi, Eid Al Mawlid, Salem Al Dawsari, Abbas Al Hassan, Nasser Al Dosari, Muhammad Kanno, and Sami Al Naji
Forwards: Fahd Al Mawlid, Ayman Yahya, Abdul Rahman Gharib, Firas Al Braikan, Abdullah Radif, Saleh Al Shehri
Oman (Group F)
Goalkeepers: Ibrahim Al Mukhaini, Faiyz Al-Rushaidi, Ahmed Faraj Al-Rawahi
Defenders: Ghanim Al Habashi, Fahmi Said, Juma Al-Habsi, Ahmed Al-Khamisi, Ahmed Al Kaabi, Khalid Al-Braiki, Mahmood Mabrook, Abdulaziz Al Gheilani
Midfielders: Zahir Al-Aghbari, Omar Al-Malki, Jameel Al-Yahmadi, Abdullah Fawaz, Mataz Saleh, Musab Al Maamari, Harib Al-Saad, Tameem Al Balushi
Forwards: Issam Al Sabhi, Muhsen Al-Ghassani, Ali Al-Busaidi, Salah Al-Yahyaei, Abdullah Al Musherfy, Abdulrahman Al Meshifry
via: ‘Alkass Digital‘ on X, previously called Twitter
Here’s the complete squad guide for the tournament, enlisting names from 24 teams.
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