This picture taken with a fisheye lens shows lights illuminating the opening ceremony of the AFC Qatar 2023 Asian Cup before the Group A football match between Qatar and Lebanon at the Lusail Stadium in Lusail, north of Doha on January 12, 2024. (Photo by KARIM JAAFAR / AFP)
Doha, Qatar: The grandest ever edition of Asia's national team flagship got underway in spectacular fashion on Friday evening with a record number of spectators contributing to the electric atmosphere during the opening match of the AFC Asian Cup Qatar 2023 between Qatar and Lebanon.
A total of 82,490 fans thronged the iconic Lusail Stadium to witness Qatar get off to a winning start in the 18th edition of Asia's crown jewel, which eclipsed the previous attendance record of 40,000 for an opening match in AFC Asian Cup history that was set in 2004 when China PR and Bahrain played out a 2-2 draw at the Workers Stadium in Beijing.
The 3-0 victory, which meant that reigning champions Qatar moved to the top of Group A, was achieved thanks to a brace from Akram Afif and a header from Almoez Ali, with the latter's strike taking him to joint-second place in the all-time AFC Asian Cup scoring charts on 10 goals.
The match also saw the implementation of the Semi-Automated Offside Technology (SAOT) system, marking its debut at an Asian Football Confederation (AFC) competition and making the AFC the first Confederation in world football to apply the system at the Continental Mens national team level. The SAOT system complemented the Video Assistant Referee (VAR) system, which made its full debut following its successful implementation from the Quarter-final stage during the 2019 tournament in the United Arab Emirates.
The Continental Federation also noted that the State of Qatar is hosting the Asian Cup for the third time, which is also a record.
The AFC described the Qatari edition as the greatest in the history of the Asian Cup, and that the opening took place in a dazzling ceremonial manner on Friday.
