Doha, Qatar: The cast for the AFC eAsian Cup 2023 Round of 16 was confirmed after the conclusion of the group stage matches yesterday.
Mirroring the format of the AFC Asian Cup Qatar 2023, teams who finished in the first and second positions in each group qualified to the knockout stage and were accompanied by the four best third-placed finishers.
As the 16 teams vie for a place in history, the-AFC.com caught up with some of the stars of the event to get their impression of the first-ever esports event hosted by the Asian Football Confederation.
Abdulaziz Shaheen, Qatar
It is an honour to represent Qatar in this amazing event, especially as we are the hosts. It feels incredible to think that we got to experience this historic moment and I hope that we can make our country proud.
Much like the AFC Asian Cup, this event gave us a chance to interact with gamers from all over the Continent and it has really opened our minds to the endless possibilities. I hope we can emulate the performance of our national team at the Asian Cup and go as far as possible.
Ibrahim Gulrez, India
The fact that no matter what happens in this event, it will always say that we represented the national team at the very first edition of the eAsian Cup, is quite unbelievable.
India didn’t have the best outing at the Asian Cup, and we hope we can redeem that a little bit with our efforts. It has been a great experience and I hope we can do justice to the opportunity that has been presented to us.
Rashid Khakimov, Uzbekistan
This is a wonderful event. Some of the biggest competitors in the world are Asian, so to be able to compete against them is a true honour. With so many champions in our midst, it is easy to understand the kind of significance this event holds for all of us.
We derive a lot of inspiration from the Uzbekistan national team at the Asian Cup and I hope we can show the same resilience and do our very best. We hope to go far in this event and make our country proud.
Elga Cahya Putra, Indonesia
I think it’s an incredible event so far as it is the first time an efootball event of this stature is being hosted in Asia. I think the eAsian Cup will have a tremendous impact on the esport world and now, with the support of the AFC, I am hopeful that there will be many such events held in the future.
We are getting a lot of support from Indonesia and I hope they will pray and support us. With their blessings, we want to go down in history as the winners of the first eAsian Cup title.
Aihara Tsubasa, Japan
It’s a privilege to be able to participate in the AFC eAsian Cup. We are competing using the players from our national team and to be able to do that on a continental level is a huge achievement.
Every team playing here is a force to reckon with as we all want to etch our names in history. It’s no different for us. I believe Japan have a very good shot at winning the title and it would mean everything for us to take the trophy home.
Sief Addeen Dababneh, Jordan
I think the way in which the entire event has been progressing is very impressive. I want to thank all the people working behind the scenes who have made the experience so enjoyable for us.
The eAsian Cup will become an important part of the esports world as for the first time, we got to witness so many talented Asian teams all at the same time. It will raise awareness on how much talent there is in our Continent.
Jordan’s qualification into the semi-finals of the Asian Cup has given us a lot of happiness and we want to follow in their footsteps, and if all goes well, maybe bring back the trophy to Amman.
