2027 AFC Asian Cup

The 2027 AFC Asian Cup will be the 19th edition of the AFC Asian Cup, the quadrennial international men's football championship of Asia organised by the Asian Football Confederation (AFC). The tournament involves 24 national teams after the expansion in 2019. It will be held in Saudi Arabia from 7 January to 5 February 2027.^[1][2]

2027 AFC Asian Cup

AFC Asian Cup Saudi Arabia 2027 كأس آسيا 2027
Bid logo
Tournament details
Host country	Saudi Arabia
Dates	7 January – 5 February
Teams	24 (from 1 confederation)
Venue(s)	8 (in 3 host cities)
← 2023 2031 →

The tournament will return to its usual four-year cycle, after the 2023 edition was postponed to 2024 due to the removal of China as hosts and high summer temperatures in Qatar.

Qatar are the two-time defending champions.

Host selection

Main article: 2027 AFC Asian Cup bids

AFC confirmed the list of member associations expressed their interests to host 2027 Asian Cup before the 30 June 2020 deadline,^[3] and they gave their necessary letters of undertaking in November.^[4] On 17 October 2022, the AFC Executive Committee announced that the host of the 2027 AFC Asian Cup would be chosen by the AFC Congress at its next meeting on 1 February 2023 in Manama, Bahrain.^[5][6] However, India, one of the last two bidders, withdrew on 5 December^[7] leaving Saudi Arabia as the only remaining bidder. On 1 February, the AFC confirmed that Saudi Arabia won the bid and will host the tournament for the first time.^[1]

Venues

500km
311miles

3

2

1

   

Location of the host cities of the 2027 AFC Asian Cup.

1

Riyadh

2

Jeddah

3

Khobar

Eight stadiums in three host cities will be used to play the tournament:^[8]

City	Stadium	Capacity
Riyadh	King Fahd Sports City Stadium	70,200
	King Saud University Stadium	25,000
	Kingdom Arena	27,000
	Imam Mohammed University Stadium	21,000
	Al-Shabab Stadium	15,000
Jeddah	King Abdullah Sports City Stadium	62,345
	Prince Abdullah Al-Faisal Sports City Stadium	27,000
Khobar	Aramco Stadium (New)	46,096

Teams

Main article: 2027 AFC Asian Cup qualification

Qualification status

  Qualified for Asian Cup

  Can qualify

  Failed to qualify

  Withdrew or excluded

  Not an AFC member

The first two rounds of qualification will act as part of the Asian qualification for the 2026 FIFA World Cup. Saudi Arabia, which received automatic qualification for the Asian Cup as host, is also participating in the qualifiers to qualify for the 2026 World Cup.^[9]

The Northern Mariana Islands, whose football association became the 47th full AFC member during the confederation's 30th Congress on 9 December 2020,^[10] was only eligible to enter the qualification tournament for the Asian Cup, but was ultimately excluded.^[11]

Qualified teams

Team	Method of qualification	Date of qualification	Finals appearances	First appearance	Last appearance	Previous best performance
Saudi Arabia	Hosts	1 February 2023	12th	1984	2023	Winners (1984, 1988, 1996)
Australia	Second round Group I winners	26 March 2024	6th	2007	2023	Winners (2015)
Iraq	Second round Group F winners	26 March 2024	11th	1972	2023	Winners (2007)
Iran	Second round Group E winners	26 March 2024	16th	1968	2023	Winners (1968, 1972, 1976)
Uzbekistan	Second round Group E runners-up	26 March 2024	9th	1996	2023	Fourth place (2011)
Qatar	Second round Group A winners	26 March 2024	12th	1980	2023	Winners (2019, 2023)
United Arab Emirates	Second round Group H winners	26 March 2024	12th	1980	2023	Runners-up (1996)
Japan	Second round Group B winners	2 April 2024	11th	1988	2023	Winners (1992, 2000, 2004, 2011)
South Korea	Second round Group C winners	6 June 2024	16th	1956	2023	Winners (1956, 1960)
Oman	Second round Group D winners	6 June 2024	6th	2004	2023	Round of 16 (2019)
Palestine	Second round Group I runners-up	6 June 2024	4th	2015	2023	Round of 16 (2023)
Bahrain	Second round Group H runners-up	6 June 2024	8th	1988	2023	Fourth place (2004)
Jordan	Second round Group G winners	6 June 2024	6th	2004	2023	Runners-up (2023)
China	Second round Group C runners-up	11 June 2024	14th	1976	2023	Runners-up (1984, 2004)
Indonesia	Second round Group F runners-up	11 June 2024	6th	1996	2023	Round of 16 (2023)
North Korea	Second round Group B runners-up	11 June 2024	6th	1980	2019	Fourth place (1980)
Kuwait	Second round Group A runners-up	11 June 2024	11th	1972	2015	Winners (1980)
Kyrgyzstan	Second round Group D runners-up	11 June 2024	3rd	2019	2023	Round of 16 (2019)

Group stage

All times are local, AST (UTC+3).

Group A

Pos	Team v t e	Pld	W	D	L	GF	GA	GD	Pts	Qualification
1	Saudi Arabia (H)	0	0	0	0	0	0	0	0	Advance to knockout stage
2	A2	0	0	0	0	0	0	0	0
3	A3	0	0	0	0	0	0	0	0	Possible knockout stage based on ranking
4	A4	0	0	0	0	0	0	0	0

First match(es) will be played: 7 January 2027. Source: AFC
(H) Hosts

7 January 2027 (2027-01-07)

Saudi Arabia	Match 1

8 January 2027 (2027-01-08)

	Match

---

12 January 2027 (2027-01-12)

	Match

12 January 2027 (2027-01-12)

	Match

---

17 January 2027 (2027-01-17)

	Match

17 January 2027 (2027-01-17)

	Match

Group B

Pos	Team v t e	Pld	W	D	L	GF	GA	GD	Pts	Qualification
1	B1	0	0	0	0	0	0	0	0	Advance to knockout stage
2	B2	0	0	0	0	0	0	0	0
3	B3	0	0	0	0	0	0	0	0	Possible knockout stage based on ranking
4	B4	0	0	0	0	0	0	0	0

First match(es) will be played: January 2027. Source: AFC

8 January 2027 (2027-01-08)

	Match

8 January 2027 (2027-01-08)

	Match

---

13 January 2027 (2027-01-13)

	Match

13 January 2027 (2027-01-13)

	Match

---

18 January 2027 (2027-01-18)

	Match

18 January 2027 (2027-01-18)

	Match

Group C

Pos	Team v t e	Pld	W	D	L	GF	GA	GD	Pts	Qualification
1	C1	0	0	0	0	0	0	0	0	Advance to knockout stage
2	C2	0	0	0	0	0	0	0	0
3	C3	0	0	0	0	0	0	0	0	Possible knockout stage based on ranking
4	C4	0	0	0	0	0	0	0	0

First match(es) will be played: January 2027. Source: AFC

9 January 2027 (2027-01-09)

	Match

9 January 2027 (2027-01-09)

	Match

---

13 January 2027 (2027-01-13)

	Match

14 January 2027 (2027-01-14)

	Match

---

18 January 2027 (2027-01-18)

	Match

18 January 2027 (2027-01-18)

	Match

Group D

Pos	Team v t e	Pld	W	D	L	GF	GA	GD	Pts	Qualification
1	D1	0	0	0	0	0	0	0	0	Advance to knockout stage
2	D2	0	0	0	0	0	0	0	0
3	D3	0	0	0	0	0	0	0	0	Possible knockout stage based on ranking
4	D4	0	0	0	0	0	0	0	0

First match(es) will be played: January 2027. Source: AFC

9 January 2027 (2027-01-09)

	Match

10 January 2027 (2027-01-10)

	Match

---

14 January 2027 (2027-01-14)

	Match

14 January 2027 (2027-01-14)

	Match

---

19 January 2027 (2027-01-19)

	Match

19 January 2027 (2027-01-19)

	Match

Group E

Pos	Team v t e	Pld	W	D	L	GF	GA	GD	Pts	Qualification
1	E1	0	0	0	0	0	0	0	0	Advance to knockout stage
2	E2	0	0	0	0	0	0	0	0
3	E3	0	0	0	0	0	0	0	0	Possible knockout stage based on ranking
4	E4	0	0	0	0	0	0	0	0

First match(es) will be played: January 2027. Source: AFC

10 January 2027 (2027-01-10)

	Match

10 January 2027 (2027-01-10)

	Match

---

15 January 2027 (2027-01-15)

	Match

15 January 2027 (2027-01-15)

	Match

---

20 January 2027 (2027-01-20)

	Match

20 January 2027 (2027-01-20)

	Match

Group F

Pos	Team v t e	Pld	W	D	L	GF	GA	GD	Pts	Qualification
1	F1	0	0	0	0	0	0	0	0	Advance to knockout stage
2	F2	0	0	0	0	0	0	0	0
3	F3	0	0	0	0	0	0	0	0	Possible knockout stage based on ranking
4	F4	0	0	0	0	0	0	0	0

First match(es) will be played: January 2027. Source: AFC

11 January 2027 (2027-01-11)

	Match

11 January 2027 (2027-01-11)

	Match

---

16 January 2027 (2027-01-16)

	Match

16 January 2027 (2027-01-16)

	Match

---

20 January 2027 (2027-01-20)

	Match

20 January 2027 (2027-01-20)

	Match

Ranking of third-placed teams

The four best third-placed teams from the six groups advanced to the knockout stage along with the six group winners and six runners-up.

Pos	Grp	Team v t e	Pld	W	D	L	GF	GA	GD	Pts	Qualification
1	A	Third place Group A	0	0	0	0	0	0	0	0	Advance to knockout stage
2	B	Third place Group B	0	0	0	0	0	0	0	0
3	C	Third place Group C	0	0	0	0	0	0	0	0
4	D	Third place Group D	0	0	0	0	0	0	0	0
5	E	Third place Group E	0	0	0	0	0	0	0	0
6	F	Third place Group F	0	0	0	0	0	0	0	0

First match(es) will be played: 15 January 2027. Source: AFC

Knockout stage

In the knockout stage, extra time and a penalty shoot-out will be used to decide the winner if necessary.

Bracket

Round of 16

Quarter-finals

Semi-finals

Final

January –

28 January –

Winner Match

January –

Winner Match

1 February –

Winner Match

January –

Winner Match

28 January –

Winner Match

January –

Winner Match

5 February –

Winner Match 49

January –

Winner Match 50

29 January –

Winner Match

January –

Winner Match

2 February –

Winner Match

January –

Winner Match

29 January –

Winner Match

January –

Winner Match

All times are local, AST (UTC+3).

Round of 16

23 January 2027 (2027-01-23)

	Match 37

---

23 January 2027 (2027-01-23)

	Match 38

---

24 January 2027 (2027-01-24)

	Match 39

---

24 January 2027 (2027-01-24)

	Match 40

---

25 January 2027 (2027-01-25)

	Match 41

---

25 January 2027 (2027-01-25)

	Match 42

---

26 January 2027 (2027-01-26)

	Match 43

---

26 January 2027 (2027-01-26)

	Match 44

Quarter-finals

28 January 2027 (2027-01-28)

	Match 45

---

28 January 2027 (2027-01-28)

	Match 46

---

29 January 2027 (2027-01-29)

	Match 47

---

29 January 2027 (2027-01-29)

	Match 48

Semi-finals

1 February 2027 (2027-02-01)

	Match 49

---

2 February 2027 (2027-02-02)

	Match 50

Final

5 February 2027 (2027-02-05)

Winner Match 49	Match 51	Winner Match 50

Marketing

Sponsorship

Official Global Partners

• Credit Saison
• Neom^[12]
• Qatar Airways^[13]
• Visit Saudi

Official Global Supporters

• Kelme^[14]
• Midea^[15]

Broadcasting rights

The broadcasters around the world that acquired the rights to the tournament included:

Territory	Broadcaster(s)	Ref.
Australia	Paramount+ and Network 10	[16]
India	Fancode	[17]
Saudi Arabia	Shahid and SSC	[18][19]
South Korea	Coupang	[20]
Vietnam	K+	[21][22]

See also

• Football in Saudi Arabia

Notes