Our projection of Australia as tournament favourites was very short-lived, as a last-minute penalty concession let South Korea take that match to extra time, with a stunning free kick delivering the Koreans an extra-time victory and some small semblance of revenge for 2015. With just three matches left, South Korea are the only hope that east Asia has of claiming the title, with the other three semi-finalists all playing around the Middle East.
The early game, tonight, sees South Korea against Jordan - the latter side have often looked threatening in Asian football and served as a tricky stepping stone for several of the major players, but might finally be able to break through themselves. As the form team of the competition, with a strong rate of scoring, Jordan head into tonight’s match as slight favourites; however, they’ll be outsiders in the final regardless of who wins tomorrow’s game. Qatar took until penalties to beat Uzbekistan, but their record outside of that match has been quite compelling and they start favourites against an Iran team hoping to establish supremacy with a fourth Asian Cup title.
| Final | Champion | |
|---|---|---|
| QAT | 5525 | 3357 |
| IRN | 4475 | 2489 |
| JOR | 5364 | 2325 |
| KOR | 4636 | 1829 |