The AFC Under-23 Asian Cup Qatar 2024 is fast approaching and it’s time to take a deep dive into everything you need to know about the teams. As countdown begins for the kick-off, we take a look at Group A comprising Qatar, Australia, Jordan and Indonesia.
Qatar Previous appearances: 4
Best finish: 3rd (2018)
2022 result: Group stage
How they qualified: Hosts
Qatar missed out on the inaugural edition in 2013 but have been ever present since, with the 2018 edition seeing their best performance with a fourth-placed finish after losing to South Korea in the semi-finals. While they qualified by virtue of being the hosts, Qatar did feature in the qualifying stage in Group B where they defeated Kyrgyzstan (1-0), Myanmar (6-0) and South Korea (2-0), even though their results did not count in the standings of the group.
With the attacking talents of Tameen Mansour Alabdulla, Ahmed al-Rawi and Lotfi Madjer in their ranks, Qatar will be confident of offering a strong challenge in the competition. The Qatar squad completed its camp in Doha yesterday. Qatar wrapped up the camp with a 1-0 win over Malaysia in a friendly match. Earlier, they played three friendly matches against the Uzbekistan and China. Qatar begin their campaign against Indonesia on April 15 at the Jassim Bin Hamad Stadium.
Australia
Previous appearances: 5
Best finish: 3rd (2020)
2022 result: 4th
How they qualified: Group I winners
Australia are one of seven teams who have competed in every edition with their best performance coming in Thailand 2020 where they finished third, having lost to South Korea in the semi-finals.
Starting their qualifying campaign with a 1-1 stalemate against Tajikistan, their emphatic 7-1 win over Laos meant they took the Group I top spot ahead of Tajikistan on goal difference.
Tony Vidmar’s side will start as one of the favourites with European-based players Louis D’Arrigio (Lechia Gdansk), Jacob Italiano (Borussia Monchengladbach II), Garang Kuol (FC Volendam) and Adrian Segecic (FC Dordrecht) in the squad, with Australia having recently emerged as runners-up in the 2024 WAFF U-23 Championship.
Jordan
Previous appearances: 5
Best finish: 3rd (2013)
2022 result: Group stageHow they qualified: Group A winners
Jordan have also been perennial contenders but have to go back to the first edition in 2013 for their best result, losing to Saudi Arabia in the semi-finals before finishing third after beating Korea Republic in the playoff.
Perfect in the qualifiers, Jordan scored 12 goals without reply in their three matches, defeating Brunei Darussalam (9-0), Oman (1-0) and Syria (2-0) with head coach Abdullah Abu Zema possessing a plethora of attacking options at his disposal.
Strike duo Wassem al-Riyalat and Reziq Bani Hani scored a combined five goals in the qualifiers and will be expected to lead Jordan’s charge.
Indonesia
Previous appearances: Nil
How they qualified: Group K winners
Tournament debutants Indonesia will relish their first appearance at the AFC U-23 Asian Cup after head coach Shin Tae-yong, who also handles the senior side at the helm, steered them through an impressive qualifying campaign.
Wins over Chinese Taipei (9-0) and Turkmenistan (2-0) saw Indonesia claim the Group K top spot at a canter.
Shin will have a vastly experienced squad at his disposal with several players having shone for the senior side in their recent Preliminary Joint Qualifier – Round 2 for the FIFA World Cup 2026 and AFC Asian Cup 2027 matches, with the likes of Ernando Ari, Ivar Jenner, Justin Hubner and Marselino Ferdinan the ones to look out for.
Qatar begin their campaign against Indonesia on April 15 at the Jassim Bin Hamad Stadium in Doha.
