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 January 2027 in Saudi Arabia .[ 1] [ 2]
2027 AFC Asian Cup كأس آسيا 2027 Bid logo
Host country Saudi Arabia Dates 15 January – 8 February Teams 24 (from 1 confederation) Venue(s) 10 (in 4 host cities) 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.
AFC confirmed that the following 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]
Location of the proposed host cities of the SAFF's 2034 FIFA World Cup bid
The following are the host cities and venues selected for Saudi Arabia's bid:[ 8]
City
Stadium
Capacity
Dammam
Prince Mohamed bin Fahd Stadium
25,226
Dammam Stadium (New)
40,000
Khobar
Prince Saud bin Jalawi Sports City Stadium
24,440
Jeddah
King Abdullah Sports City Stadium
65,000
Prince Abdullah Al-Faisal Sports City Stadium
27,000
Riyadh
King Fahd Sports City Stadium
70,000
King Saud University Stadium
46,319
Prince Faisal bin Fahd Sports City Stadium
46,865
Prince Mohammed bin Salman Stadium
46,979
New Murabba Stadium (New)
46,010
Teams qualified
Teams can still qualify
Teams failed to qualify
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 expected to participate in the qualifiers to qualify for the 2026 World Cup.[ 9]
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]
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 )
First match(es) will be played: 15 January 2027. Source: AFC(H) Hosts
Pos
Team
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
Pos
Team
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
Pos
Team
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
Pos
Team
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
Pos
Team
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
Ranking of third-placed teams
edit
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
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
In the knockout stage, extra time and a penalty shoot-out were used to decide the winner if necessary.
Round of 16 Quarter-finals Semi-finals Final
January –
–
Winner Match
January –
Winner Match
February –
Winner Match
January –
Winner Match
–
Winner Match
January –
Winner Match
8 February –
Winner Match 49
January –
Winner Match 50
–
Winner Match
January –
Winner Match
February –
Winner Match
January –
Winner Match
–
Winner Match
January –
Winner Match
All times are local, AST (UTC+3 ).
Official Global Partners
Official Global Supporters
The broadcasters around the world that acquired the rights to the tournament included: