Iran Press/ Asia: The Asian Football Confederation’s continental showpiece kicks off with hosts United Arab Emirates taking on Bahrain in a Group A fixture at the Zayed Sports City Stadium.
The 2019 Asian Cup will take place from January 5 to February 1 - only the second time the Emirates has played host, Iran Press reported.
The country last staged the tournament in 1996, when the national team were defeated in the final on penalties by Persian Gulf rivals Saudi Arabia. That remains the UAE’s best Asian Cup performance to date. Four years ago they finished third.
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For the first time, the Asian Cup will feature 24 teams, having been expanded from the 16-team format employed between 2004 and 2015. Teams have been divided into six groups of four, with the top two sides and the four best third-placed sides progressing to the knockout stages.
India, Turkmenistan, Philippines, Kyrgyzstan and Yemen are all part of the tournament. The latter three nations are playing their first ever Asian Cup.
Iran hopes for its third AFC Asian Cup title — a competition that has not won in 43 years despite being heavyweights of Asian football over the years.
Pointing out that for Iran's sport 2018 was a successful year in the wake of many events, Minister of Sports and Youth, Massoud Soltanifar said that given the all-out support provided by the federation of football and the Ministry of Sports for the national team, Iran can become champion of Asia.
Iran will face Yemen in their opening match of the AFC Asian Cup 2019 on January 7. It will also face Vietnam and Iraq on January 12 and 16 respectively in the group stages. 101/ 211 / 202
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