Group C of the 2023 AFC Asian Cup took place from 14 to 23 January 2024. The group consisted of Iran, United Arab Emirates, Hong Kong and Palestine. The top two teams, Iran and the United Arab Emirates, along with third-placed Palestine (as one of the four best third-placed teams), advanced to the round of 16.
Teams Draw position Team Zone Method ofqualification Date ofqualification Finalsappearance Lastappearance Previous bestperformance FIFA Rankings April 2023 December 2023 C1 CAFA Second round Group C winners 15 June 2021 15th 2019 Winners (1968, 1972, 1976) 24 21 C2 WAFF Second round Group G winners 15 June 2021 11th 2019 Runners-up (1996) 72 64 C3 EAFF Third round Group D runners-up 14 June 2022 4th 1968 Third place (1956) 147 150 C4 WAFF Third round Group B winners 14 June 2022 3rd 2019 Group stage (2015, 2019) 93 99 Notes
Standings
Matches
United Arab Emirates vs Hong Kong This was the first time the sides met in the group stage of an Asian Cup. They had previously met three times in the past, with a draw in 2000 and two 4–0 wins for the Emiratis as part of 2015 AFC Asian Cup qualification.
In the 30th minute, Sultan Adil shot his ball to the hand of Hong Kong defender Oliver Gerbig, with the referee deciding to give a penalty after consulting VAR due to Gerbig's hand movement being deemed abnormal. Adil then converted the penalty himself to give the Emiratis the lead. Early in the second half, Everton Camargo delivered a brilliant pass from the right flank to Chan Siu Kwan, who then equalised with what was Hong Kong's first goal since Li Kwok Keung on 15 May 1968, and the 1,000th goal in Asian Cup history. However, Zayed Sultan soon reclaimed the lead for the Emiratis after two earlier shots from Abdullah Ramadan and Adil were denied by keeper Yapp Hung Fai, when Sultan was quick to seize the opportunity over the ball's deflection to his position. In the first minute of second-half stoppage time, Yahya Al-Ghassani was deemed to have been fouled by Shinichi Chan while dribbling in Hong Kong's penalty area after another VAR consultation, going on to become a controversial penalty decision, during which Al-Ghassani would again successfully convert in the sixth minute of added time. Minutes later, Michael Udebuluzor scored a second goal for Hong Kong which was ruled out by VAR again, as the United Arab Emirates triumphed 3–1.
GK 17Khalid Eisa (c)RB 3 Zayed Sultan CB 12Khalifa Al HammadiCB 26Bader NasserLB 2 Abdulla Idrees CM 15Yahia Nader CM 18Abdullah Ramadan RW 10Fábio Lima CM 8 Tahnoon Al-Zaabi LW 11Caio CanedoCF 23Sultan AdilSubstitutions:MF 14Abdulla Hamad FW 20Yahya Al-Ghassani MF 5 Ali Salmeen DF 24Ahmed Jamil DF 4 Khalid Al-Hashemi Manager: Paulo Bento GK 1 Yapp Hung Fai (c)RB 21Yue Tze Nam CB 3 Oliver Gerbig CB 13Li Ngai Hoi LB 17Shinichi ChanCM 6 Wu Chun MingCM 8 Tan Chun Lok RW 11Everton CamargoAM 16Chan Siu Kwan LW 14Poon Pui Hin CF 9 Matt OrrSubstitutions:FW 25Stefan Pereira FW 20Michael Udebuluzor MF 10Wong Wai DF 4 Vas Nuñez MF 22Yu Joy Yin Manager: Jørn Andersen
Man of the Match: Yahya Al-Ghassani (United Arab Emirates)
Assistant referees: Ronnie Goh Min Kiat (Singapore) Abdul Hannan Bin Abdul Hasim (Singapore) Fourth official: Ahmad Al-Ali (Kuwait) Reserve assistant referee: Abdulhadi Al-Enezi (Kuwait) Video assistant referee: Sivakorn Pu-udom (Thailand) Assistant video assistant referees: Kate Jacewicz (Australia)
Iran vs Palestine The sides had faced each other six times prior, with Iran undefeated in all matches; their most recent meeting was a friendly in 2018, which ended with a 1–1 draw.
Iran got off to a dream start after a fast attack saw Mehdi Ghayedi seize the opportunity from a throw-in, passing to Saman Ghoddos who sent the ball to Karim Ansarifard, putting Iran in front after just two minutes. Iran doubled their lead ten minutes later after Ghoddos delivered a set-piece which Shojae Khalilzadeh quickly got on the end of to strike the ball into the net. In the 38th minute, a failed clearance from Palestine's Mohammed Rashid was intercepted by Ansarifard, who then passed to Alireza Jahanbakhsh and then Ghayedi, striking a low shot to give Iran a three-goal lead. In the sixth minute of first half stoppage time, a clever set-piece from Palestine's Zaid Qunbar caught Iranian defender Saeid Ezatolahi by surprise, as he headed the ball directly to his opponent Tamer Seyam, whose subsequent converted header was thus onside and reduced Iran's lead back to a two-goal margin. Iran then buried any Palestinian hope of a comeback in the 55th minute when Sadegh Moharrami, receiving the ball from Majid Hosseini, delivered a decisive pass for Sardar Azmoun, who then struck the net after clumsy attempts by the Palestinians to clear the ball.
GK 1 Alireza Beiranvand RB 2 Sadegh Moharrami CB 13Hossein Kanaanizadegan CB 4 Shojae Khalilzadeh LB 3 Ehsan Hajsafi (c)CM 6 Saeid EzatolahiCM 14Saman Ghoddos RW 7 Alireza JahanbakhshAM 9 Mehdi TaremiLW 18Mehdi Ghayedi CF 10Karim Ansarifard Substitutions:DF 19Majid Hosseini FW 20Sardar Azmoun MF 21Mohammad Mohebi DF 23Ramin Rezaeian MF 8 Omid Ebrahimi Manager:Amir Ghalenoei GK 22Rami Hamadeh RB 7 Musab Al-Battat (c)CB 4 Yaser Hamed CB 15Michel Termanini LB 12Camilo Saldaña RM 9 Tamer Seyam CM 3 Mohammed RashidCM 6 Oday KharoubLM 10Mahmoud Abu WardaCF 20Zaid Qunbar CF 13Shehab Qunbar Substitutions:DF 2 Mohammed Khalil DF 5 Mohammed Saleh FW 8 Hassan Alaa Aldeen FW 11Oday Dabbagh MF 14Samer Zubaida Manager: Makram Daboub
Man of the Match: Saman Ghoddos (Iran)
Assistant referees: Taleb Al-Marri (Qatar) Saoud Al-Maqaleh (Qatar) Fourth official: Hanna Hattab (Syria) Reserve assistant referee: Ali Ahmad (Syria) Video assistant referee: Abdulla Al-Marri (Qatar) Assistant video assistant referees: Khamis Al-Marri (Qatar)
Palestine vs United Arab Emirates This was the sides' first meeting since 2016, when the two faced as part of 2018 FIFA World Cup qualification, with the United Arab Emirates winning 2–0 at home.
The UAE had the better start, and in the 23rd minute, from a contested ball in the midfield won by Ali Saleh, he provided a perfect cross for Sultan Adil, who then headed into the Palestinian net to give the Emiratis the lead. However, the match changed direction significantly after a pulling foul in the area from Emirati defender Khalifa Al Hammadi on Oday Dabbagh in the 34th minute, which resulted in Al Hammadi's dismissal after VAR intervention; despite this, Tamer Seyam failed to convert from the resulting penalty with goalkeeper Khalid Eisa keeping his effort out. Nonetheless, Palestine's persistent pressure paid off in the 50th minute when, from a long-range delivery, Seyam redeemed himself with a tricky cross into the penalty area, which Bader Nasser's header turned into an own goal to level the match. In spite of this goal and persistent continued Palestinian pressure, the United Arab Emirates held firm as the contest ended in a draw, denying the Palestinians a first-ever win at the Asian Cup.
GK 22Rami Hamadeh RB 7 Musab Al-Battat (c)CB 15Michel TermaniniCB 5 Mohammed SalehLB 12Camilo Saldaña RM 9 Tamer SeyamCM 6 Oday Kharoub CM 3 Mohammed Rashid LM 10Mahmoud Abu Warda CF 11Oday DabbaghCF 20Zaid Qunbar Substitutions:MF 23Ataa Jaber FW 13Shehab Qunbar MF 21Islam Batran MF 14Samer Zubaida DF 25Samer Jundi Manager: Makram Daboub GK 17Khalid Eisa (c)RB 19Khaled Ibrahim CB 12Khalifa Al Hammadi CB 26Bader NasserLB 2 Abdulla IdreesCM 6 Majid RashidCM 18Abdullah Ramadan RW 10Fábio Lima AM 9 Ali Saleh LW 11Caio Canedo CF 23Sultan Adil Substitutions:DF 4 Khalid Al-Hashemi FW 20Yahya Al-Ghassani DF 3 Zayed Sultan MF 5 Ali Salmeen MF 21Harib Abdalla Manager: Paulo Bento
Man of the Match: Khalid Eisa (United Arab Emirates)
Assistant referees: Abdulhadi Al-Anezi (Kuwait) Ahmad Abbas (Kuwait) Fourth official: Ahmed Al-Kaf (Oman) Reserve assistant referee: Abu Bakar Al-Amri (Oman) Video assistant referee: Abdulrahman Al-Jassim (Qatar) Assistant video assistant referees: Abdullah Jamali (Kuwait)
Hong Kong vs Iran This was the sides' first meeting in an Asian Cup since 1968. Iran had previously faced Hong Kong seven times, all competitive fixtures, with Hong Kong recording one win and Iran six, including their most recent encounter as part of 2026 FIFA World Cup qualification, which Iran won 4–0.
Hong Kong surprised Iran with some long-range efforts and duels won over Iranian players, particularly when a poor attempt to kick the ball away by the Iranians ended up hitting Everton Camargo as he put his shot wide. In the 24th minute, however, Mehdi Taremi would provide a clinical pass for Mehdi Ghayedi from a breakthrough the defence, before Ghayedi finished in the bottom left of Hong Kong's net to score Iran's only goal, and also the only goal of the match to secure Iran's win.
GK 1 Yapp Hung Fai (c) RB 21Yue Tze NamCB 3 Oliver GerbigCB 4 Vas Nuñez LB 17Shinichi Chan CM 6 Wu Chun Ming CM 8 Tan Chun Lok RW 11Everton CamargoAM 16Chan Siu Kwan LW 23Sun Ming Him CF 9 Matt Orr Substitutions:MF 10Wong Wai FW 20Michael Udebuluzor FW 25Stefan Pereira MF 15Chang Hei Yin FW 14Poon Pui Hin Manager: Jørn Andersen GK 1 Alireza Beiranvand RB 23Ramin RezaeianCB 13Hossein KanaanizadeganCB 19Majid Hosseini LB 5 Milad MohammadiCM 15Rouzbeh CheshmiCM 14Saman GhoddosRW 7 Alireza Jahanbakhsh (c) AM 9 Mehdi Taremi LW 18Mehdi Ghayedi CF 26Shahriyar Moghanlou Substitutions:MF 6 Saeid Ezatolahi FW 10Karim Ansarifard MF 21Mohammad Mohebi MF 8 Omid Ebrahimi DF 3 Ehsan Hajsafi Manager:Amir Ghalenoei
Man of the Match: Milad Mohammadi (Iran)
Assistant referees: Ali Ahmad (Syria) Mohamad Kazzaz (Syria) Fourth official: Ko Hyung-jin (South Korea) Reserve assistant referee: Park Sang-jun (South Korea) Video assistant referee: Hiroyuki Kimura (Japan) Assistant video assistant referees: Kate Jacewicz (Australia)
Iran vs United Arab Emirates This was the sides' first meeting in the Asian Cup since 2015, which Iran won 1–0. Iran also won by the same scoreline when the sides met during 2022 FIFA World Cup qualification, both home and away.
Iran quickly proved their dominance in the match, and it paid off in the 26th minute when a clinical one-touch play from Sardar Azmoun met Mehdi Taremi in the right position, as he overcame two remaining Emirati defenders to open the scoring, before Ali Gholizadeh had another header in the 36th minute ruled out for offside. Iran's rampant pressure consistently pushed the Emiratis to the brink, but as Iran poured everything into a second goal, an Emirati counterattack saw Yahya Al-Ghassani sneak into the Iranian penalty area before being fouled by Hossein Kanaanizadegan, which resulted in a yellow card for Kanaani and a penalty for the UAE. However, Al-Ghassani then squandered the 63rd minute spot kick, and his team was made to pay the price two minutes later, when a misjudged pass by Khalid Ibrahim was intercepted by Azmoun, whose backheel pass for Taremi allowed the latter to strike Iran's second goal. Iran had two more goals ruled out by VAR, first for an offside from Azmoun and then a second from Mohammad Mohebi due to his earlier foul on Emirati midfielder Majid Rashid. As the match drew to a close, in the third minute of stoppage time, Al-Ghassani redeemed himself when he got on the end of a rebound from Abdullah Ramadan's long-ranged shot, which he was able to head home; while it did not alter the match's outcome, Al-Ghassani's goal secured the Emiratis second place and progression from the group.